Afganistan Victims' Bodies Flown Home

The bodies of four British servicemen killed by a rogue Afghan soldier have been repatriated today.

Major James Bowman, Lieutenant Neal Turkington and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun, all of 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, were killed at their base in Helmand Province on Monday last week.

Their bodies - along with that of Marine Matthew Harrison, of 40 Commando - were flown back to RAF Lyneham, where a chapel service was held for close relatives and the coffins then passed through nearby Wootton Bassett at about 2pm for recognition by hundreds of mourners - including Royal British Legion members.

One of the deceased was Co Armagh's Lieutenant Neal Turkington, a 26-year-old Portadown officer who was killed alongside his two colleagues in Afghanistan last week when the rogue Afghan soldier turned on them, killing all three and injuring four others.

Lieutenant Turkington, whose remains were repatriated this morning into RAF Lynam in Wiltshire, had served with the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles and the Ministry of Defence said of him that he "had the highest expectations of himself and his platoon, to whom he dedicated himself wholeheartedly".

Another victim, Major Bowman was the most senior member of British forces to die in Afghanistan since Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed by a roadside bomb last July.

Corporal Pun, 33, from Khibang village in Nepal's Magdi District, joined the British Army in 1995.

His wife, Durga, said: "Arjun Purja Pun was a tremendous husband. He was proud to be a soldier and died doing a job he loved.

"We are devastated by the loss of Arjun who was a loving husband and father."

Marine Harrison, 23, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, died in Afghanistan the day before his 24th birthday.

He was taken to the Camp Bastion field hospital after being wounded in a firefight on a patrol, but died later.

As their funerals took place, UK special forces continued a massive manhunt for Talib Hussein who is believed to have carried out the attack that killed the three soldiers last week.

Hussein, 23, shot Maj Bowman, 34, from Salisbury, in his sleeping quarters in Patrol Base 3 in Nahr-e Saraj district, near Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah.

He also fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the base's command centre, killing Lt Turkington and Corporal Pun, wounding four other UK soldiers.

See: Sad Return As Army Wins Stormont Praise

(BMcC/GK)