July 2, 2012 - 14:17 AMT
3 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Three British soldiers have been killed by a gunman wearing a police uniform in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said, BBC News reported.

The MoD said the soldiers were shot and fatally wounded on Sunday, July 1 as they left a checkpoint in Helmand province.

More than 20 foreign personnel have been killed in so-called rogue shootings in Afghanistan this year.

An MoD spokesman said of the latest casualties: "Their loss will be felt deeply across the task force. However, that will be nothing compared with the grief experienced by their families at home. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time."

The soldiers were part of a NATO-led ISAF force who have been training Afghan counterparts ahead of a handover of security responsibility by 2014.

The shooting happened at Checkpoint Kamparack Pul in Nahr-e-Saraj, where the soldiers were attending a meeting of elders.

They were shot at as they were leaving the checkpoint.

The gunman was injured and later detained, NATO said.