Spain


35-year-old Spanish Army Staff Sgt. Joaquin Moya Espejo was killed in action on Sunday 6th November 2011 when insurgents attacked a group of Afghan troops being accompanied by Spanish military advisers near Ludina, Badghis province.

The attack occurred northwest of Ludina, where Afghan troops, Spanish military advisers and a sniper team had taken up position on a hill to protect troops moving through a valley. The soldiers came under small arms fire from a distant position and Staff Sgt. Moya Espejo, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was hit in the chest.

He was airlifted to a military field hospital at Bala Morghab, but he went into cardio-respiratory arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the medical facility.

Staff Sgt. Moya Espejo served with Infantry Regiment Garellano 45 based in the Spanish city of Vitoria.