Afghanistan: Mum of UK soldier fears his death was for nothing

Aaron McClure was 19 when he and two other soldiers died in "friendly fire" in Afghanistan in 2007

The mother of a teenage British soldier who was killed by a US bomb in Afghanistan said she felt his death "was for nothing".

Aaron McClure, from Ipswich, was 19 when he and two other soldiers died in "friendly fire" on 23 August 2007.

On Sunday, the Taliban declared victory after regaining the Afghan capital almost 20 years after being ousted from power by the US-led military coalition.

Pte McClure's mother Lorraine said she felt "absolutely knocked back".

"We know the boys done good when they were out there, but the ripples that run through the families of the fallen, to the guys who've taken their life since they've come out of the Army, to the injured, PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], it goes on and on and on," she said.

"It's such a horrible thought to leave the civilians - the children, women, innocent lives over in Afghanistan - to their own devices; god knows what is going to happen from now on."

The capital Kabul was the last major city in Afghanistan to hold out against a Taliban offensive that began months ago, but accelerated in recent days as they reclaimed territories following the withdrawal of most foreign troops.

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The news has led to scenes of panic at Kabul airport as residents tried to flee.

Some 457 British personnel died after Nato forces entered the country in 2001.

Lorraine McClure's son Aaron was killed in Helmand Province alongside Robert Foster and John Thrumble while serving with the Royal Anglian Regiment in 2007.

A US F15 plane bombed them instead of a Taliban position.

After the recent events in Afghanistan, Ms McClure said: "At this moment in time, I really do feel his death was for nothing.

"It took me a lot of years to accept that his death wasn't in vain, but today I don't feel that at all. I feel he should be here, as well as many others, because the country is the same as it was before."

Lorraine McClure, pictured in 2015, said she knew of other families who were feeling "let down"

She said it had "taken all these years to accept what's happened and to get yourself into a state of living where you're not grieving every single day".

But she added: "Today I feel absolutely knocked back, full of fear and just really angry and upset about it all."

She said other families of fallen soldiers were feeling "let down and disappointed", and that she did not think Afghanistan was stable enough to have pulled British troops out.

'Really frightening'

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said the UK government was confident it could get British nationals out, with plans for hundreds more to leave in the coming days.

The UK was also evacuating the country of Afghans who worked for British forces, but Mr Wallace said some who were eligible to leave would be left behind.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was chairing a meeting of the government's Cobra emergencies committee - the third in four days - to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

The UK Parliament was also being recalled from its summer recess on Wednesday to hold a debate on the situation.

Ms McClure said: "I don't think they were ready to pull out - the country wasn't stable enough. It's really frightening.

"I feel in my heart that they shouldn't be sending any more troops out there.

"How many times have we tried to stabilise this country? It's never stabilised, not properly. It never will be.

"As a mother, the thought of any other families having to go through this is horrendous."