Two British paratroopers accused of opening fire on a car carrying

Two British paratroopers, accused of opening fire on a car carrying a pregnant woman and killing her brother-in-law, have returned to Britain from Kabul. Afghan and British police are investigating the shooting incident, but the soldiers will only answer questions from British police, said Captain Graham Dunlop, a spokesman for the British peacekeeping force. “Two of the soldiers of the Parachute Regiment are back in the U.K.,” he said “The investigation into the incident is continuing.” Capt. Dunlop said the repatriation was a normal procedure during an investigation. If any legal action is to be taken against the soldiers, Dunlop said, it will be taken in Britain and not in Afghanistan.

“Britain retains exclusive jurisdiction over the soldiers,” he said. “If they need to be punished, they will be dealt with by us.” The pre-dawn shooting last week angeredng Afghans in Kabul who say that the soldiers fired 60 bullets at a car that violated a night-time curfew as it raced to take a pregnant woman to a hospital. The paratroopers were manning an observation post on top of an abandoned grain silo that overlooked a muddy slum. The area is largely abandoned at night and the soldiers apparently opened fire moments after the car’s noisy engine and headlights were turned on. Captain Dunlop said he had no information as to whether the two were the only members of their six-man patrol who opened fire Afghan witnesses say that 60 bullets were fired Each soldier’s SA-80 rifle carries 30 rounds.

Amaun Isaq, 20, was killed in the incident with a gunshot wound to the head His sister-in-law, Faria, gave birth that night No weapons have been found at the scene of the shooting.. When one senior civil service post is advertised next month there may be no flood of applications even though it carries a salary of about £100,000, a pension and access to the heart of government,. No wonder that one Whitehall insider confided yesterday that the vacant post at the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions was “the worst job in the Civil Service right now”.The post itself has undoubtedly been dogged by controversy since Alun Evans quit last summer amid accusations that he had clashed with Jo Moore, Mr Byers’ former special adviser. Mr Evans was incensed when Ms Moore told one of his junior press officers to spin a story to the press that aimed to damage the credibility of London’s transport commissioner, Bob Kiley. Mr Sixsmith, a former BBC correspondent, was then hired as the perfect man to bring more of a media-savvy approach to the department.Now that Mr Sixsmith has himself been forced out, Downing Street will be hoping that his replacement attracts as little attention as possible.Mr Byers has indicated to friends that there are still failures within his press office when it comes to responding quickly to breaking stories and will want someone tough in charge.

High-profile journalists and even former heads of trade union press departments may still feel that they can turn the department around. Despite the clear pitfalls, anyone succeeding would definitely receive a passport to greater things in government.Yet an intimate knowledge of newspaper and broadcasters’ deadlines and needs may not be seen as the highest priority in a department that is desperately keen to be thought of once more as a “straight dealer”. Civil servants are the most likely to clinch it.Iain Hepplewhite, director of news at the Department of Trade and Industry, is tipped by some for the post. A former press officer for the Parliamentary Labour Party and head of press at the Department of Culture Media and Sport, he has also worked closely with Mr Byers at the DTI.Derek Plews, director of news at the Ministry of Defence, is well regarded and knows the department from his time as press secretary to John Prescott in the previous parliament. Other Whitehall high-flyers are Julia Simpson, deputy director of communications and head of news at the Home Office, and Sian Jarvis, director of communications at the Department of Health..