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Murdered soldier's family 'numb'

The relatives of a British officer murdered by a renegade Afghan soldier in Helmand Province are said to be numb with grief.

Lieutenant Neil Turkington, 26, from Portadown, Co Armagh, was one of three soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles killed on Tuesday by the rogue member of the Afghan National Army in the base they shared at Nahr-e Saraj.

It is understood he died alongside a Nepalese Gurkha when the soldier fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the command centre at Patrol Base 3.

The Afghan soldier also shot a major while he slept in quarters.

A manhunt is now on for the soldier after claims from the Taliban that they are harbouring him.

Meanwhile, David Cameron has vowed there will be no change of strategy in Afghanistan after the murders.

The Prime Minister told the Commons at question time: "There should be no knee-jerk reaction, no change in our strategy.

"We must continue to work with the Afghan Army to create a stable Afghanistan able to maintain its own security and to prevent al Qaida from returning."

Mr Cameron paid tribute to the dead soldiers and blamed an Afghan soldier "betraying his Afghan and international comrades".

He said a joint investigation by the Afghan authorities and international forces was under way to cover "every aspect of this incident and the lessons to be learned".

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