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| 7 British Marines Investigated in Afghan Killing | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Authorities in London said on Friday that seven members of the Royal Marines had been arrested on suspicion of murder after “an engagement with an insurgent” in Afghanistan last year, apparently the first time that British service personnel have been held on such charges in more than a decade of war there. | Authorities in London said on Friday that seven members of the Royal Marines had been arrested on suspicion of murder after “an engagement with an insurgent” in Afghanistan last year, apparently the first time that British service personnel have been held on such charges in more than a decade of war there. |
| The Defense Ministry said in a statement that no civilians were involved in the incident, which, the BBC reported, concerned a commando brigade stationed in Afghanistan’s troubled Helmand Province. | |
| “These arrests demonstrate the department and the armed forces’ determination to ensure U.K. personnel act in accordance with their rules of engagement and our standards,” the statement said, without giving details or identifying the detainees by name. The rules of engagement set out the circumstances under which British troops are permitted to open fire, either to forestall an attack or in battle. | “These arrests demonstrate the department and the armed forces’ determination to ensure U.K. personnel act in accordance with their rules of engagement and our standards,” the statement said, without giving details or identifying the detainees by name. The rules of engagement set out the circumstances under which British troops are permitted to open fire, either to forestall an attack or in battle. |
| Britain is the second-biggest contributor after the United States to the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, with about 9,500 service members based there. | |
| They include Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, who began a four-month deployment to Afghanistan with a different unit as the co-pilot and weapons officer of an Apache attack helicopter in September. | They include Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, who began a four-month deployment to Afghanistan with a different unit as the co-pilot and weapons officer of an Apache attack helicopter in September. |
| Since the beginning of the war in 2001, Britain has lost 433 service personnel killed in Afghanistan out of a total of 3,200 deaths reported for the coalition, according to iCasualties, a Web site that tracks casualties. This year, 39 British soldiers have died, eight of them in so-called green-on-blue incidents involving Afghan soldiers or police officers opening fire on coalition forces. | |
| British troops were also close allies of the United States in Iraq, holding positions mainly around the southern city of Basra between 2003 and 2008. During that period 128 Iraqis complained that the soldiers abused detainees. | British troops were also close allies of the United States in Iraq, holding positions mainly around the southern city of Basra between 2003 and 2008. During that period 128 Iraqis complained that the soldiers abused detainees. |
| In September 2011, a major inquiry into the most notorious case of detainee abuse by British soldiers in Iraq described “a very great stain on the reputation of the army,” detailing a series of abuses. The report concluded that one Iraqi, a 26-year-old hotel worker in Basra, died from “an appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence.” |