A man in Afghan army uniform opened fire at British servicemen, killing two. The attacker was eliminated in reprisal fire. Tensions remain high in Afghanistan after another recent incident that ended with 17 civilians dead.

­NATO spokesman Major Jason Waggoner confirmed the incident, saying the gunman was “shot and killed,” refusing though to provide further details.

The incident took place at NATO’s main base in Helmand province – Camp Bastion northwest of province’s capital Lashkar Gah. The base was built by British in 2006 and accommodates 21,000 people.

A Helmand provincial spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, said the British soldiers passed a remark to an Afghan guard at the main base gate about him incorrectly patting down a person coming into the compound. The Afghan then pointed his machine-gun at the two and shot them dead.