Rifleman Aaron Lincoln Inquest
The inquest into the death of Rifleman Aaron Lincoln, of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, who was killed while on patrol in Basra, in southern Iraq.
INQUEST CLOSED
A single rifle killed seven UK soldiers
 |
| KILLED: Aaron Lincoln |
AN 18-year-old North-East soldier
killed in Iraq was one of
seven British service personnel
shot with the same sniper's rifle.
The soldiers were killed on the
streets of Basra over several
months.
Rifleman Aaron Lincoln, of the
2nd Battalion, The Rifles, died of
a single bullet wound to the head
while on patrol in the southern
Iraqi city on April 2, last year.
An inquest was told yesterday
that the US-made high velocity
bullet penetrated his protective
glasses and helmet.
Ballistics expert Ann Kiernan,
of LGC Forensics, told the court,
in Spennymoor, County Durham,
that it had been fired from the
same gun that had killed several
other soldiers in the Basra area
last year.
She said the bullets were made
in the US by Lake City Arsenal.
Coroner Andrew Tweddle said
Ms Kiernan had "been able to
corroborate and confirm that
this single weapon in Basra has
been responsible for a number of
fatalities."
Rfn Lincoln was weeks away
from returning to his home on
the Sherburn Road Estate, in
Durham, after a seven-month
tour.
He and six other soldiers had
left their Bulldog armoured vehicles
to investigate an earlier
shooting in which a colleague
had been injured.
Major Alexander Baring said
Rfn Lincoln was part of a fourvehicle
team.
Two took the injured soldier to
Basra Palace while the other two
tried to find the sniper.
Maj Baring told the inquest
that this was normal and that
Rfn Lincoln was wearing his full
kit, including body armour and
helmet.
The inquest was told the vehicles
had pulled up at a hotel in a
heavily built-up area about 2kms
from base.
Sergeant Michael Lines was
commanding seven ground
troops from one of the Bulldogs.
He told the court: "At the time
we believed the sniper was in a
hotel that we surrounded.
"We would check for exits and
go into the hotel up on the roof if
necessary."
Corporal Christopher Tolley
was with Rfn Lincoln when the
18-year-old was hit by sniper fire
as they approached the front
doors of the hotel.
The shot smashed through his
goggles, penetrated his helmet
and went into his skull.
Cpl Tolley said he spun around
and saw Rfn Lincoln sway slightly
before falling to the ground as
the gunman fired a second time.
Another shot narrowly missed
one of the other soldiers as the
foot patrol sought cover and returned
fire.
Cpl Tolley said of the sniper:
"He had picked his position well
and he had been waiting. It was
his killing ground and we just
happened to move into it."
Rfn Lincoln was taken to a military
hospital in Basra Palace,
where he was pronounced dead.
Alan Hepper, a mechanical engineer,
told the inquest that the
helmet Rfn Lincoln had been
wearing was not designed to stop
a high velocity bullet.
The coroner recorded a narrative
verdict of unlawful killing,
adding that Rfn Lincoln was shot
by enemy fire.
"He sustained a single gun
shot wound to the head," he said.
"This 5.56 mm, US-manufactured
round was not fired by
friendly forces."
After the hearing, Captain
Mark Skinner, speaking on behalf
of Rfn Lincoln's family, said
they did not wish to comment.
"It was recently the first anniversary
of Aaron's death and
now the inquest is over the family
simply wish to be left in peace,"
he said.
A spokesman for the Ministry
of Defence said Rfn Lincoln,
Kingsman Danny Wilson, 28,
Kingsman Alan Jones, 20, Corporal
Rodney Wilson, 30, Rifleman
Paul Donnachie, 18, and two others
who have yet to be named,
were all killed by bullets from the
same weapon.
But the spokesman said he
could not verify that a single gunman
was responsible for the
killing.
"We have been able to confirm
that it was the same weapon, but
there is no evidence to suggest
that it was a single sniper," he
said.
8:14am Thursday 10th April 2008
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