Two British troops shot dead by man in Afghan army uniform Published on Monday 26 March 2012 14:25 TWO British soldiers have been shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan army uniform, defence secretary Philip Hammond has said. They were at a NATO coalition base in southern Afghanistan when they were shot, officials said. The attack was the latest in a string of so-called "green on blue" attacks in which Afghan security forces have turned their guns on their international colleagues. Such attacks have become increasingly common over the past year, particularly since the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base in February. Fifteen NATO service members, including eight Americans, have been killed by Afghan security officials or militants disguised in their uniforms so far this year. Today's shooting occurred around 11 a.m. in front of the main gate of a joint civilian-military base in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, the governor's office said. Ghulam Farooq Parwani, deputy commander of the Afghan National Army in Helmand, said the shooter was from the eastern Nangarhar province and had been in the army for four years. The Afghan soldier arrived at the gate of the base in an army vehicle. He was able to get close to the British troops by claiming that he had been assigned to provide security for a delegation of government officials from Kabul who were visiting the base Monday, according to Parwani. "He got close to the foreign troops - three or four meters (yards) - and he opened fire," Parwani said. Then the foreign troops killed him. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the shooter was an Afghan soldier who was in close contact with insurgents and had notified the Taliban of his planned attack before carrying it out. Since 2007, Afghan security forces have killed more than 75 NATO service members and wounded more than 110 others, according to the Pentagon. More than 75 percent of the attacks have occurred in the past two years. A Western official in southern Afghanistan confirmed that the attack happened at the main NATO base in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province but declined to give further information. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been officially released. Monday's attack also comes two weeks after a U.S. soldier allegedly went on a pre-dawn shooting rampage in neighboring Kandahar province, killing 17 people and wounding six. The Lashkar Gah base is dominated by British forces and a NATO official said the two victims were British soldiers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not yet been formally announced. Britain's Ministry of Defense said it was aware of the incident, but refused to release any more details or confirm whether the soldiers were British. The killings come at a time when international troops have stepped up training and mentoring of Afghan soldiers, police and government workers so that Afghans can take the lead and the foreign forces can go home.