political news

Three British servicemen killed by a rogue Afghan soldier in Helmand province, Afghanistan, have been named by the Ministry of Defence.

Major James Joshua Bowman, from Wiltshire, Lieutenant Neal Turkington, from Craigavon, and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun, from Nepal, served in 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

Family tributes described the men as "selfless" and "brave".

A major manhunt is under way following Tuesday's attack in Nahr-e Saraj.

Maj Bowman's family said he had been the "best possible son and brother" who "loved the Army and was very proud of the selfless work that he and his company were doing".

Lt Turkington's family said they were "devastated" by their loss and said the soldier had been "relentless and steadfast in his pursuit of those causes he believed in".

Corporal Pun's wife, Durga, said her husband had been "proud to be a soldier and died doing a job he loved".

Lt Col Gerald Strickland MBE, Commanding Officer 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, said that with Major Bowman's death, the battalion had lost a "brave" and "truly courageous" commander who had led with a "rare determination".

The 34-year-old from Salisbury had joined The Light Infantry in 1999 and served in Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone before joining 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles in May 2009.

Lt Col Strickland said Lt Turkington, 26, had been a "courageous and determined platoon commander" who was respected for his "integrity and raw ability".

Lt Col Strickland said Cpl Pun, 33, a father-of-two from Khibang village in Nepal's Magdi District, had been a "true Gurkha... steadfast and loyal", and a man who had "immediately earned the respect of his men".

Earlier, Nato said it was using every "asset" within its power to find the Afghan killer and those who may be assisting him.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the "despicable and treacherous" act would "not dent the resolve of the colleagues they leave behind".

He said: "The efforts of 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles have directly improved the security situation in the Nahr-e Saraj district; their bold acts have improved the lives of the Afghan people and their mission to partner and train the Afghan National Army is vital to our success.

"I extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the servicemen killed in this atrocious attack, their sacrifice will not be forgotten."

A Royal Marine was also killed on Tuesday when he was shot dead in a separate incident in Helmand province, taking the number of British personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 318. He has not yet been named.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence announced that Gen Sir David Richards is to be the next chief of the defence staff, the UK's most senior military officer.

He will replace Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, who is leaving the post later this year.

The man chosen to take charge of the US military in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, has warned of an escalation of violence in the coming months.

"The going inevitably gets tougher before it gets easier," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee, which backed his nomination to lead the war.

The general said troops were engaged in a contest of wills with the Taliban and promised a more co-ordinated approach.

President Obama chose Gen Petraeus after sacking Gen Stanley McChrystal.

The outgoing general and his aides criticised senior administration officials in a Rolling Stone magazine article. He has since announced his retirement.

In written answers to the Senate committee on Tuesday, Gen Petraeus described the security situation in Afghanistan as "tenuous" and insurgents as "resilient and still-confident", particularly in the south of the country.

However, he did say that he believed progress was possible.

"They can sense concern in various capitals around the world and of course they want to increase that concern," he said.

"My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months," he added. "As we take away the enemy's safe havens and reduce the enemy's freedom of action, the insurgents will fight back."

The general said he supported the president's plan to begin withdrawing troops in July 2011, but emphasised that there would be "certain tweaks, refinements, perhaps significant changes" after the White House's year-end review.

Senator John McCain said the US could not "afford to have a stay-the-course approach to starting our withdrawal in July 2011 when the facts on the ground are suggesting that we need more time".

Later, Gen Petraeus warned that raising the standards of the Afghan army and police was a "hugely challenging" task, he said, comparing it to "building an advanced aircraft while it is in flight, while it is being designed and while it is being shot at".

He also said he would look very hard at the current rules of engagement for US ground and air forces, which were drawn up to reduce civilian deaths but have been criticised for putting units at unnecessary risk.

"Those on the ground must have all the support they need when they are in a tough situation," he told the committee.

Gen Petraeus, 57, was nominated by President Obama last week to replace Gen McChrystal as commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan.

The widely-lauded soldier has formidable political and diplomatic skills. He has been credited with having turned around the military situation in Iraq with a "surge" there.

There is a broad consensus among lawmakers that there is not a better man for the job, the BBC's defence correspondent Nick Childs says.

But his confirmation hearing is also likely to be become a platform for the airing of mounting unease in the Congress over the administration's Afghan strategy, our correspondent says.

Republicans are expected to question Gen Petraeus about whether Mr Obama's strategy of commencing a troop drawdown in July 2011 will hamper his leadership of the war effort.

The leading Republican on the Armed Services Committee, Senator John McCain, has been a vocal critic of setting a date for withdrawal.

Some in Washington political circles also question the reliability of the Afghan government as a partner and the quality of Afghan forces.

The Obama administration is stressing that Gen Petraeus represents continuity and reassurance, and that he is in many ways the father of the strategy to which the US and its allies are wedded.

In December, President Obama ordered 30,000 extra troops into Afghanistan, an announcement that received support from both parties.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Robert Gates held talks at the Pentagon with his UK counterpart, Dr Liam Fox.

During their meeting, Dr Fox stressed the need to keep focus on ensuring that the necessary security conditions are met before transition to the Afghan authorities can take place.

"We cannot afford Afghanistan to lapse back into a failed state, which will create a security vacuum, contaminate the region and threaten the national security of the UK and its allies. That is why we are there and that is why we stay," he said.

The director of the CIA has conceded that the war in Afghanistan has been "harder and slower" than expected.

Speaking on US television Leon Panetta said while progress had been made in Afghanistan, serious problems with governance, corruption and the Taliban insurgency remained.

Mr Panetta's comments come as Gen David Petraeus takes over command of multinational forces in Afghanistan, following the sacking of Gen Stanley McChrystal.

Gen McChrystal was dismissed last week over critical comments about senior US officials.

Speaking to ABC This Week programme Mr Panetta insisted that "the fundamental key is whether the Afghans accept responsibility" for taking over the battle against the insurgency once foreign troops pull out of the country.

Drones defended

Mr Panetta defended CIA drone strikes on senior al-Qaeda of Taleban leaders in the region, saying that claims they violate international law are "dead wrong".

"We have a duty, we have a responsibility, to defend this country so that al-Qaeda never conducts that kind of attack again," he said.

Mr Panetta said that al-Qaida was probably at its weakest since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.

He said 50 to 100 militants were operating inside Afghanistan and the rest hiding along Pakistan's mountainous western border region.

"We are engaged in the most aggressive operations in the history of the CIA in that part of the world, and the result is that we are disrupting their leadership," Panetta told ABC television.

He said the US had not had good intelligence on Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts for years.

Mr Panetta said that the al-Qaeda network was finding new ways to try to attack the United States. Of greatest concern, he said, was al-Qaida's reliance on operatives without previous records or those living in the US.