Reports are unclear as to the exact source of the disagreement, but witnesses have said that the British soldiers visited a  Nahr-e-Saraj checkpoint for a scheduled meeting, gotten into  a heated argument with the Afghani and as the victims walked away, they were fired upon by the allied police officer.

Four servicemen were hit. All were given first aid at the scene, but only one survives and is said to be in stable condition. The shooter was also shot, but not killed. The Taliban almost immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The assailant has been identified as a member of the Afghan National Civil Order Police, a special unit set up  to help deal with insurgents and enforce the law in towns and villages. ANCOP elite membership is more heavily-vetted before receiving more intensive training – a strategic linchpin in the U.S. strategy to exit the region by 2014.