Gurkha Soldier in trouble for beheading a dead Taliban

A Gurkha soldier in the British Army has been removed from duty in Afghanistan after he beheaded a dead Taliban commander with his ceremonial kukri knife. The Nepalese private decapitated the dead man with the intention of returning to base with the head so the Taliban fighter could be identified by senior officers as a 'high value target'. The soldier's 1st Battalion, Royal Guards unit had intended to removed the target's entire body from the battle-ground, near Babaji in central Helmand. But the soldiers came under heavy machine gunfire while trying to so - prompting the soldier to take his extreme action. Desecrating a dead man's body is considered offensive in Afghanistan, where local custom dictates that the entire body is buried, even if body parts have to be retrieved to do so.  And under the Geneva conventions on the conduct of war, soldiers are banned from demeaning enemy combatants. It was announced today that the Gurkha private, who is believed to be in his twenties, has been suspended from duty and flown back to the UK. He is understood to be confined to barracks in Shorncliffe Garrison near Folkestone in Kent.  He could face a court martial and could even be jailed if he is found guilty of beheading the fighter. The incident comes during a period of especially high tension for the Gurkas fighting in Afghanistan. Just last week a rogue Afghan soldier turned on his supposed comrades to murder three British troops from the 1st Royal Gurka Rifles. The Ministry of Defence said it was investigating the incident. A spokesman said: 'We are aware of an incident and have informed the Afghan authorities. An investigation is under way and it would not be appropriate to comment further until this is concluded.' Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said: 'In this case, it appears that the soldier was not acting maliciously, but his actions were clearly ill-judged. 'The Gurkhas are a very fine regiment with a proud tradition of service in the British forces and have fought very bravely in Afghanistan. 'I have no doubt that this behaviour would be as strongly condemned by the other members of that regiment, as it would by all soldiers in the British forces.' The curved kukri knife has a powerful significance in Nepali culture as an embodiment of Gurka fighting skill. As well as an effective close-quarters weapon it is also used a general working knife - for such jobs as chopping wood and preparing food. By Dan Newling In this photograph taken June 24, 2010 Major James Joshua Bowman (R), Commander of A Company 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles, Captain Chandra (L), Second in Command, and Warrant Officer Sulav Gurung (C) pose for a group photo at their patrol base in Nahr e Saraj village, Helmand. Bowman, 34, was among three servicemen killed on the base in southern Afghanistan by a renegade Afghan soldier. Bowman was shot dead early July 13, 2010 as he slept in the base in Nahr-e-Saraj district, Helmand province, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement July 15, 2010. (L-R) Major James Joshua Bowman (L), Lieutenant Neal Turkington (C), and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun are seen in this undated handout combination photograph released in London July 15, 2010. A renegade Afghan soldier is on the run after killing three British servicemen of a Gurkha unit in the Taliban's heartland, testing the trust of foreign and local troops fighting together as the war intensifies. Major Josh Bowmans' family, mother Barbara and father Jonathan Bowman along with sister Louisa, wait for his coffin to be brought through the town on July 20, 2010 in England. Marine Mathew Harrison, from 40 Commando Royal Marines, Lieutenant Neal Turkington, 1st Battalion The Royal Ghurkha Rifles, Corporal Arjun Purja Pun,1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles and Major James Joshua Bowman also from 1st Battalion The Royal Ghurkha Rifles passed through the town after they were repatriated to nearby RAF Lyneham. Mourners wait for the repatriation cortege carrying Marine Matthew Harrison of 40 Commando, Lieutenant Neal Turkington, Corporal Arjun Purja Pun and Major Josh Bowman of 1st battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles to pass through Wootton Bassett, southern England Soldiers from 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles patrol through a village in Nahr e Saraj, Helmand. U.S. Army soldiers with the 1-320 Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, take a break after receiving incoming fire from suspected Taliban militants at Combat Outpost Nolan in the Arghandab Valley north of Kandahar Soldiers of A Company from the 1st Battalion of Royal Gurkha Rifles take positions during a patrol in Nahr e Saraj village, in Helmand. Afghan policemen stand around the bodies of suspected Taliban militants. A soldier with a reconnaissance patrol of the Royal Canadian Dragoons climbs onto a light armoured vehicle (LAV) at an observation post in the Panjwayyi district of Kandahar province. The 'recce' patrols watch for militants trying to plant improvised explosive devices in the roads and fields around the district, which is part of the Taliban heartland.