http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295703/Gurkha-soldier-removed-duty- beheading-dead-Taliban-commander-battle.html
Gurkha soldier removed from duty for beheading dead Taliban commander during battle By Dan <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Dan+Newling> Newling Last updated at 4:38 PM on 18th July 2010 A Gurkha soldier in the British Army has been removed from duty in Afghanistan after he beheaded a dead Taliban commander with his ceremonial kukri knife. The Nepalese private decapitated the dead man with the intention of returning to base with the head so the Taliban fighter could be identified by senior officers as a 'high value target'. The soldier's 1st Battalion, Royal Guards unit had intended to removed the target's entire body from the battle-ground, near Babaji in central Helmand. But the soldiers came under heavy machine gunfire while trying to so - prompting the soldier to take his extreme action. Desecrating a dead man's body is considered offensive in Afghanistan, where local custom dictates that the entire body is buried, even if body parts have to be retrieved to do so. And under the Geneva conventions on the conduct of war, soldiers are banned from demeaning enemy combatants. It was announced today that the Gurkha private, who is believed to be in his twenties, has been suspended from duty and flown back to the UK. He is understood to be confined to barracks in Shorncliffe Garrison near Folkestone in Kent. He could face a court martial and could even be jailed if he is found guilty of beheading the fighter. The incident comes during a period of especially high tension for the Gurkas fighting in Afghanistan. Just last week a rogue Afghan soldier turned on his supposed comrades to murder three British troops from the 1st Royal Gurka Rifles. The Ministry of Defence said it was investigating the incident. A spokesman said: 'We are aware of an incident and have informed the Afghan authorities. An investigation is under way and it would not be appropriate to comment further until this is concluded.' Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said: 'In this case, it appears that the soldier was not acting maliciously, but his actions were clearly ill-judged. 'The Gurkhas are a very fine regiment with a proud tradition of service in the British forces and have fought very bravely in Afghanistan. 'I have no doubt that this behaviour would be as strongly condemned by the other members of that regiment, as it would by all soldiers in the British forces.' The curved kukri knife has a powerful significance in Nepali culture as an embodiment of Gurka fighting skill. As well as an effective close-quarters weapon it is also used a general working knife - for such jobs as chopping wood and preparing food. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
