Kabul attack: UK sympathy over NZ soldier death

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The
government has expressed its sorrow at the death of a New Zealand
special forces soldier killed during a Taliban attack on the British
Council in Kabul.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt spoke of his "sincere gratitude" on behalf of the British people.


Gunmen stormed the British Council office in the Afghan capital on Friday, killing at least 12 people.


The Taliban said the attack marked the anniversary of Afghanistan's independence from the UK in 1919.


A suicide car bomb also destroyed the compound wall. The gunmen were all later killed.


'Dreadful incident'
In a statement, Mr Burt passed on his condolences to the soldier's family and friends.


"The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has spoken to [New
Zealand's] Prime Minister John Key, to pass on our sympathies and to
thank New Zealand for the role their special forces played in bringing
this dreadful incident to a close," he added.


"Our thoughts are also with the Afghan security personnel who were killed or wounded during the attack."


Mr Cameron previously condemned the "vicious and cowardly attack".


Earlier, Britain's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir William Patey, confirmed that all the militants were killed.


He said: "This was a dastardly, cowardly attack designed to
attack British interests, but ultimately ending in the deaths of many
Afghans, and we regret the death of the Afghans in this."


There has been some confusion about the number of people killed in the Kabul attacks.


At least eight Afghan policemen and a New Zealand special
forces soldier were killed, officials from both countries said. Three
security guards also died, the Afghan interior ministry told the BBC.


The UK Foreign Office said all British citizens were "shaken but well" after being safely removed from the building.


One British and one South African teacher were among four
residents of the compound who took refuge in a reinforced safe room
during the attack, the British Council said.


The British Council is a partly government-funded agency that runs mainly cultural programmes.