Close shave for a trigger-happy tribe

The perils of operating in Afghanistan have been drilled into the British peacekeepers, but Lance Corporal Mike James stood no chance when he was ambushed by one of the country's more volatile tribes yesterday.

Strolling to his unit's outdoor bathroom under a midday sun, the 25-year-old Londoner wore shaving cream, tattoos, a towel emblazoned with St George's flag and a puzzled expression.

More than 100 journalists had spotted him and decided a near-naked squaddie was more interesting than a clothed chief of staff. Photographers, camera crews and reporters scrambled to record for the folks back home what was generally agreed to be a smooth shaving action.

It was the first day of the advance team from 11 armies' reconnaissance mission to Kabul and, as with those US marines who waded into Somalia to a battery of microphones, the only immediate threat came from the press.

The shaving Royal Marine was eventually shielded from the cameras, but not so Squadron Leader Elizabeth Rowland, 35, the only female officer of the advance team and therefore destined for parading.

"I suppose I am a novelty here, and I have got double-takes from women behind their burkas," she said.

"I was a bit apprehensive about the men, but they are very welcoming. They run up and shake my hand. I have felt very welcome."

Did she look forward to her sisters ditching the burkas? "I look forward to the security situation improving so they can choose for themselves whether to wear it," she said.

The squadron leader was tact incarnate, complaining only once - "it's blooming freezing at night, that's the hardest bit" - and blushing when asked if she had a boyfriend (yes, also in the services).

The headquarters for the intended force of 4,500 peacekeepers is a compound in central Kabul that was used as a sports club by Russian soldiers, a barracks by the mojahedin, and a dump by the Taliban. Engineers spent three days searching the site for mines, clearing out some of the rubbish and setting up tents and latrines.

Defining the peacekeepers' precise role has plagued diplomats, but Captain Andy Mason, of the Royal Marines, insisted that his men had no doubt about their powers. "If they have a weapon waved in their face then of course they will disarm that person," he said.