In Memoriam

[Grace]

Those last two deaths I posted - it appears these troops were killed by supposedly "friendly" fire. There are two differing reports that I will post here.

Reuters:

KABUL, Oct 3 (Reuters) - An Afghan soldier on guard at a joint base with U.S. troops shot dead two American servicemen and wounded two others as they slept, a provincial official said on Saturday.

Shahedullah Shahed, spokesman for the governor of Wardak province west of Kabul, said the shooting took place after a combined team of Afghan and U.S. forces had returned from a joint operation late on Friday.

"The Americans were in the middle of sleep when an Afghan soldier on duty opened fire on them," Shahed said.

"We have no clue as to why he shot them."

A statement from NATO-led forces said two American soldiers died from injuries suffered in a "hostile attack" in eastern Afghanistan on Friday. A press officer for the Western troops said he could give no further details of the incident. (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here) (Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

CBS NEWS:

An Afghan policeman conducting a joint operation with U.S. soldiers opened fire on the Americans, killing two of them before fleeing, an Afghan official said Saturday, raising fears that militants have infiltrated the ranks of Afghan forces.

The U.S. military earlier said two American troops died in a firefight in Wardak on Friday, but declined to confirm any new details.

Although Afghan forces have periodically turned their guns on international troops, training and working jointly with Afghan police and soldiers on patrols and operations are key to the U.S. strategy of curbing the spreading Taliban-led insurgency.

Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the Wardak provincial governor, said the policeman fired on the Americans while they were patrolling together Friday night, killing two and injuring two. Shahid said two of the officer's relatives were in custody for questioning.

A third U.S. service member died Friday of wounds from a bomb attack in Wardak the day before.

Makes me wonder more and more what we are doing there . . . . . .

[Grace]

3 October 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Thomas D. Rabjohn, 39, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., died Oct. 3 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated during an attempt to disarm it. He was assigned to the 363rd Explosive Ordnance Detachment, Coolidge, Ariz.

[Grace]

1 October 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Paul E. Andersen, 49, of Dowagiac, Mich., died Oct. 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his camp using indirect fire. He was assigned to the 855th Quartermaster Company, South Bend, Ind.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I heard on the radio - five were killed in one day and October 2009 to date (5 days!) there have been more deaths than the whole month of October 2008.

[Grace]

2 October 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 2 in Murcheh, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when they were attacked by a suicide bomber. They were assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Greensboro, N.C.

Killed were:

Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver, 32, of Medford, Mass.

Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr., 26, of Asheboro, N.C.

The incident is under investigation.

[Grace]

I heard on the radio - five were killed in one day and October 2009 to date (5 days!) there have been more deaths than the whole month of October 2008.

In the ABC News email I got this morning, they say that at least 17 troops have died so far this month - and this is only the 5th!!

[Grace]

United Kingdom

5 October 2009

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a soldier from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards has been killed in Afghanistan.


The soldier was killed as a result of an explosion that happened whilst on a foot patrol near to Nad e-Ali district centre in central Helmand province on the morning of 5 October 2009.

Next of kin have been informed and have asked for a period of grace before further details are released.

[Grace]

The names have not yet been posted on the DoD website, so this is from CNN -

(CNN) -- The flag-draped coffins of five U.S. soldiers killed during a weekend onslaught against a U.S. military outpost in Afghanistan arrived Tuesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the military said.

The bodies include Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk of South Portland, Maine; Spc. Michael P. Scusa of Villas, New Jersey; Spc. Stephen L. Mace of Lovettsville, Virginia; Spc. Christopher T. Griffin of Kincheloe, Michigan; and Pfc. Kevin C. Thomson of Reno, Nevada, according to the Air Force mortuary affairs office.

Coverage of the troops' return is allowed with the permission of their families under a policy the Obama administration instituted this year.

On Saturday, Taliban militants attacked American and Afghan troops in Nuristan province, opening fire on the outpost from multiple locations with rockets, mortars and heavy-caliber machine guns. At least eight American troops and two members of the Afghan national security forces were killed, the military said.

It was the largest number of Americans killed by hostile action in a single day since July 2008 when nine troops died, according to CNN records.