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20 August 2011
Last updated at 02:53 ET
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David Cameron: "This is a particularly vicious and cowardly attack"
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.
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.
'Vicious and cowardly' "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 Afghan security guards from UK-based private security firm G4S, which provides protection for the British Council in Kabul, also died.
David Taylor-Smith, from G4S, said six others - three Nepalese former Gurkhas and three Afghans - were injured and paid tribute to the "first-rate efforts" of those defending the compound.
"We will be working with the British Council to review their security requirements as a matter of urgency," he said.
'Shaken but well' "However, for the moment our efforts will now focus on those killed and injured and supporting their families and friends as much as we can in these tragic circumstances."
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.
Are you in the area? Have you ever worked for the British Council in Kabul? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.David Cameron: "This is a particularly vicious and cowardly attack"
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.
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.
'Vicious and cowardly' "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 Afghan security guards from UK-based private security firm G4S, which provides protection for the British Council in Kabul, also died.
David Taylor-Smith, from G4S, said six others - three Nepalese former Gurkhas and three Afghans - were injured and paid tribute to the "first-rate efforts" of those defending the compound.
"We will be working with the British Council to review their security requirements as a matter of urgency," he said.
'Shaken but well' "However, for the moment our efforts will now focus on those killed and injured and supporting their families and friends as much as we can in these tragic circumstances."
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.
Are you in the area? Have you ever worked for the British Council in Kabul? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials