THE Afghan soldier who murdered army cook Lance Corporal Andrew Jones has been shot dead.
Shafidullah Guhlamon was cornered like a rat by coalition troops near his home village in the Khost Province of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border and told to surrender.
| I guess he didn't understand the English so good: "Come out wit yer mitts in da air!" |
He refused
| "Youse'll never take me alive, youse flatfoots!" |
and drew a rod weapon and was whacked killed by the joined American-Afghan International Security Assistance Force patrol.
The murderer had been on the run since May 30 when he shot Lance Corporal Jones, from Melbourne, in cold blood at Combat Outpost Mashal in the Chora Valley near Tarin Kowt. Lance Cpl Jones was described as a popular and quietly spoken man who was a "bloody good soldier and a bloody great cook''.
Shafidullah escaped over the wall of the fort-like outpost and was seen running towards the nearby green zone. He escaped an immediate dragnet and was heading for his home when he was killed.
| "Ma! I'm coming Ma! Hold dinner for me!" |
Afghan commander Brigadier General Abdul Hamid told heraldsun.com.au that he had been confident Shafidullah would be found in his home territory.
He also confirmed that he was not a Taliban infiltrator and the method of his demise supports that view. If he was Taliban he would have been welcomed into the fold as a hero and given safe haven.
Just a day before he was gunned down, Lance Cpl Jones had shared recipes with Afghan cooks who run a separate mess to the Australians at the isolated base.
Afghan soldiers at the combat outpost had been deeply affected by the murder and were ashamed of their former comrade.
Lance Cpl Jones was the 20th foreign soldier to be murdered in Afghanistan this year by a member of the local security forces. Another 13 died between July and December, along with eight civilians, taking the total to 41. |