Posted on 12/21/2011 11:01:10 AM PST by lizol
Five Polish soldiers killed by Afghanistan bomb
A roadside bomb has killed five Polish soldiers in a Nato convoy in eastern Afghanistan, Poland's heaviest single loss of life since the mission began.
Polish media said the soldiers were a few miles from their base in Ghazni province when the bomb exploded.
Three soldiers died at the scene. Another two were said to have died of their wounds at a military hospital.
Poland has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan who are responsible for handling security in Ghazni.
The soldiers were part of a provincial reconstruction team, according to Polish reports, who were in an all-terrain M-ATV vehicle.
A witness in the Rawza area of Ghazni told AFP news agency that their vehicle had been completely destroyed.
The soldiers had been part of a convoy of around 30 vehicles which was heading to the opening of a mausoleum, described by Polish media as one of the projects the reconstruction team had funded.
The Taliban said it carried out the attack.
In the nine years that Polish forces have taken part in the Nato-led mission in Afghanistan, 36 have been killed. But Wednesday's attack was the bloodiest they have suffered since their arrival in March 2002.
Polish troops, in common with other Nato forces, are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Although Nato did not reveal their nationality, it confirmed that "five International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan".
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Prayers for their friends and their families.
Today’s news said that Price Harry of GB was going back to Afghanistan to serve more time with his unit.
I really am fearful for him.
“The soldiers were part of a reconstruction team in Ghazni province”.
This is a sad story. For me, it is even a bit scary, because my son, who is in the Army, is going to be in Afghanistan soon, and he is going to be replacing Polish troops. Because of this, I have been doing some research to try to figure out where he might get stationed and how dangerous it is. Here are two stories which shed more light on the Polish/Afghanistan position:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/07/07/poland_s_vietnam_syndrome_in_afghanistan?page=full
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/01/foreign_trainers_act.php (The Poles are stationed in the Ghanzi Province.)
Not possible. Joe Biden just said the Taliban were not our enemies. Does that comment include the Polish too?
“Polish troops, in common with other Nato forces, are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.”
Not a moment too soon. What a turd world hellhole Afghanistan is.
Heart goes out to their loved ones.
I downloaded a documentary on a Danish unit in Afghanistan, I will say they were fighters. Once when ambushed, they reacted instantly and killed several of the enemy. Being young men who had just beat their brush with death, they were quite excited after the battle and showed off their kills. One soldier was looking at five of the Taliban he had killed with one grenade in an irrigation ditch and said he was happy he got five of the bastards for payback.
The media being what it is, slanted the story and video showed back in Denmark to portray them as blood thirsty killers.
Agreed. It’s slanted against the good guys pretty much universally.
Prayers for our steadfast allies.
And these are allegedly Obama's allies? Can't say they're "We the People's' becasue we the peoples don't like this. Prayers up for family and friends, so tragic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.