Terrifying gun attack on troops’ Afghan translator denied sanctuary in UK
BRITAIN’s longest-serving Afghan military interpreter has been attacked by suspected Taliban gunmen after being refused sanctuary in the UK.
Two men opened fire with a pistol from ten yards away as the 34-year-old translator, known as Ricky, returned home in his car in the Afghan capital of Kabul, hitting the vehicle four times.
Ricky jumped clear and ran inside his house to get his own weapon. One bullet hit the seat where seconds earlier he had been sitting. He said: ‘I was very lucky. someone was trying to kill me – I believe it was the Taliban or Islamic state because of my work for the British forces. I ran inside for my shotgun and fired two shots into the air.
‘I then went to my roof to see if I could see them but witnesses who saw the attack said the men disappeared at the end of the road. It is very worrying as it was clearly a targeted attack on me.’
The Mail’s Betrayal of the Brave campaign has highlighted the plight of Ricky and others who have been denied sanctuary in Britain after helping our Armed Forces.
Under a UK Government relocation scheme, interpreters need to have served for at least a year in Helmand, where the worst fighting was. Ricky does not qualify because he did not work in the province, even though he has served with our troops for 16 years.
Last night former Lib Dem leader and ex-Royal Marine Paddy Ashdown said: ‘This is precisely the sort of attack that many of us warned would be bound to happen as a result of the Government’s shameful policy of denying those who served British forces the refuge they deserve in Britain.
‘The Government has insisted that these people were “safe” – those who know what is happening on the ground have long insisted that it is not. This proves they were right and the Government must now act.’
The attack came two weeks after Ricky received a texted threat to his phone, believed to have been from the Taliban, warning he was a ‘spy and traitor’ and would be ‘sent to Hell’.
A Government spokesman said: ‘We have taken immediate action to ensure Ricky and his family are safe. An investigation has been launched by our expert team in Kabul who are also providing support.’