His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Robinson, said: “Our
battalion has lost a character, a true gentleman and an inspirational
leader.”
Captain Alex Brown, a fellow officer in 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles,
said Lt Drummond-Baxter was “the consummate gentleman”, adding: “It was
his charm, kindness, and consideration that set him apart from us. He was in
many respects a throwback to another era, an English gentleman abroad.”
L/Cpl Kunwar, from Pokhara in Nepal, joined 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha
Rifles in October 2005 and went on to train as a sniper. He was on his third
operational tour in Afghanistan.
His family said: “We are deeply shocked, disheartened and in disbelief that
Siddhanta is no longer with us But we shall treasure all the good things he
did. He enjoyed immensely of his profession and was fully committed towards
it. He has made us proud. The whole family misses him dearly.”
Haji Toryalai, a senior police official in Nahr-e Saraj, told The Daily
Telegraph that the killer was not a policeman but a local farmer called
Hekmatullah who had a field close to the checkpoint and was known to the
troops there.
Hekmatullah arrived at the checkpoint armed and wearing police uniform on
Tuesday morning. He was disarmed and entered the checkpoint to talk with
someone. When he returned outside and was reunited with his weapon, he
opened fire and fled.
Hekmatullah’s brother, Najibullah, was a genuine policeman at a nearby post,
but is not thought to be involved, the Afghan official said.
British military officials could not confirm this account.
A total of 437 British troops have died in the 11-year-long Afghan campaign,
including 43 in 2012.
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