The highest ranking British officer to be killed in action in almost three decades has died in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced. By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe Photo: MOD Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, 40, the commanding officer of the Welsh Guards, died after his Viking armoured vehicle was blown up by a substantial roadside bomb that killed another British soldier and wounded six others. The second soldier was named as Tpr Joshua Hammond of the 2 Royal Tank Regiment. A high level inquiry is now underway as to why the officer was travelling in a Viking, which were supposed to be restricted to low risk areas pending its replacement by the more heavily armoured Warthog vehicle next year. Lt Col Thorneloe is the first commanding officer to be killed... [read full story]
