A SCOTTISH soldier who was shot dead after his disappearance from an Afghan military check-point was described last night as a committed soldier with a heart of gold.
Highlander Scott McLaren, 20, from Sighthill, Edinburgh, was named by the Ministry of Defence as the soldier who was found with gunshot wounds following a day-long search by colleagues on Monday.
Amid speculation over events leading up to his death, tributes were paid to Highlander McLaren, who served in the 4th battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS).
His company commander, Captain Callum MacLeod, said: “Highlander McLaren was the perfect example of what makes a Scottish soldier great. He was cool under pressure and unrelenting in the face of the enemy. We have been robbed of a friend, and the battalion of a talent that was only just beginning to shine.”
Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Aitken, the battalion’s commanding officer, said he had demonstrated the “true grit and determination of a traditional Highlander”.
The rifleman’s body was found on Monday evening, 17 hours after he vanished from his checkpoint in the volatile Lashkar Gah area of Helmand province. The MoD has refused to confirm or deny reports yesterday that he was executed by the Taliban or fresh claims by an Afghan commander that Highlander McLaren had drowned in a river near the base and his body was then shot by insurgents.
His parents, James and Ann, released a statement saying their son had died doing a job he loved. It read: “We are deeply saddened by the news that our dear son Scott was killed in Afghanistan. We were extremely proud of Scott. He loved the Army and, despite his short time in 4 SCOTS, had made many friends. We will always be thinking of him.”
David Cameron offered his condolences to the family during a trip to Afghanistan yesterday in which he announced a number of British troops would leave this year and next and UK operations would cease by 2014. Speaking in Kabul, the Prime Minister said it was a “reminder of the high price we have paid for the vital work we do in Afghanistan”.
Highlander McLaren, who joined the army in 2009 and was based in Fallingbostel, Germany, was deployed to Afghanistan in early April.
He had been responsible for finding a major Taliban explosives factory. His patrol was also instrumental in the capture of a wanted Taliban commander. The Taliban said they shot the soldier after he was kidnapped during a firefight, but these claims have been discounted.
There are also suggestions he drowned while swimming and was found on the banks of a river by insurgents, who shot his body. Sayed Maluk, the Afghan commander in the region, said the Scot had drowned in a river flowing through his base.
Further unsubstantiated reports last night suggested he had been captured by insurgents after wandering off from a checkpoint near the base.
It was claimed an Afghan councillor had said he was tortured and beaten, then killed before his corpse was paraded in front of Taliban chiefs.
The Ministry of Defence said they would not comment on speculation, and added a full inquest into Highlander McLaren’s death would be carried out.
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