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Nineteen soldiers and over 50 heavily-loaded planes are on their way back to Denmark a week earlier than planned. The last Danish soldiers have left Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan, the Army Operational Command (Hærens Operative Kommando - HOK) said on Friday. The withdrawal is taking place a week earlier than originally scheduled. The last 19 Danish soldiers will be flown back to Denmark on Friday after having left Camp Bastion on July 27th. HOK said a total of 54 heavy-loaded planes carrying 2,348 tonnes of material is being transported back to Denmark by way of Dubai. “That’s the equivalent...

The Danish support vessel Absalon, which currently heads Task Force 150 operations in the Gulf of Aden has detained five Somali pirates after sinking their vessel, according to Admiral Danish Fleet. The Danish support vessel Absalon has detained five pirates in the Gulf of Aden after a dramatic incident involving a Netherlands-flagged vessel The Absalon detained the pirates after a dramatic incident in the Gulf of Aden, during which pirates attacked a Netherlands-flagged vessel. The crew were able to repulse the pirates, setting fire to their skiff with an emergency flare, after which the pirates abandoned ship and were picked...

As part of the regeneration of Afghanistan, Denmark has renovated and rebuilt nine mosques and is building a new one in Helmand province Danish soldiers have been hard at work in the regeneration program for Afghanistan. But what the locals want more than hospitals and schools is a place of prayer. As a result, the Danes have helped renovate and rebuild nine mosques in Helmand province and are building another large one in the town of Rahim Kalay. 'We met with the locals and offered to help with the regeneration. One of the very first things they wanted was a...

Pure hell of the siege of Musa Qala A little-reported battle against the Taliban in which seven of our (Poster's note: "our" means British, the Royal Irish Brigade troops) troops died has been revealed as one of the fiercest and most heroic of the Afghan campaign. Lieutenant-Colonel DJ Reynolds Musa Qala, a besieged outpost deep in Taliban territory, holds a special place in the battle records of the Pathfinder platoon of 16 Air Assault Brigade – and of the Irishmen, Danes and other soldiers who braved face-to-face fighting to relieve them. When a column at last got through to Musa...

Text of report by private Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency Kandahar, 17 March: Two Danish soldiers have been killed and another wounded in a suicide attack [in southern Afghanistan]. The Danish Central Command in Copenhagen announced today that two Danish soldiers had been killed and another wounded in a suicide attack in Helmand's Greshk District. The Military Command also said the soldiers were working in the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Greshk and fell prey to the suicide attack today. Earlier, Helmand Police Chief Col Mohammad Hosayn Andiwal reported the incident to Afghan Islamic Press [AIP] and said three...

A military intelligence source reveals that Iraqi interpreters working for the Danish army in Iraq were spies for insurgent groups At least three Iraqi interpreters working for the Danish troops in Iraq were spies for insurgents, according to a high-level Danish intelligence official, reports Nyhedsavisen newspaper. The former head of Danish intelligence in Iraq, Major Torsten Lind Thomsen, claimed that no background security checks were ever made on the Iraqi interpreters working for the Danes. 'I was told to keep my hands off their backgrounds. At the time, officials were under enormous pressure due to the media coverage,' he said,...

" While Danish milk products were dumped in the Middle East, fervent rightwing Americans started buying Bang & Olufsen stereos and Lego. In the first quarter of this year Denmark’s exports to the US soared 17%. The British writer Christopher Hitchens organised a buy-Danish campaign. Among the thousands of emails sent to Rose was one from an American soldier serving in Iraq. “He told me he was sitting in Iraq, watching a game of football and drinking a can of Carlsberg,” Rose said. Rose is not the only person to have prospered from the crisis. Re-elected last year, Mr Rasmussen...

COPENHAGEN -- Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday that the furor over cartoons of the prophet Muhammad had "strengthened our resolve for the long haul" and that Danish troops would remain in Iraq. In an interview with The Washington Times in his Copenhagen office, Mr. Rasmussen brushed off a Danish television report of plans to cut Denmark's 530-man deployment in Iraq by nearly one-fifth in July. "It is clearly our intention to stay in Iraq as long as we are requested by the Iraqi government, as long as our presence is based on a U.N. mandate, and as...

Danish soldiers on patrol in southern Iraq came under attack but escaped unharmed, the Danish military headquarters said. Iraqis shot at the patrol on Sunday as the Danish soldiers gave first aid to a group of children injured in a traffic accident south of Al-Qurnah, it said. "They were shot at as they tried to help the children," Colonel Henrik Sommer said. The soldiers shot back, withdrew from the area and took several of the children to hospital, he said. Around 530 Danish soldiers are stationed in Iraq as part of a multinational force there, operating under British command in...

A Danish army captain and four military police sergeants have been found guilty of abusing prisoners while they were based in southern Iraq. But the judge ruled that because of "extenuating circumstances", the five would not be punished. He said they had not received clear guidelines from the Danish military. Capt Annemette Hommel and the others were convicted of verbal humiliation and forcing prisoners to maintain painful postures during interrogation. Hard line Capt Hommel, 38, and the four other defendants had denied the accusations relating to tours of duty in 2004. The defendants are to a certain degree found guilty,...

QAIM, Iraq (AP) - 1001dv-iraq-convoy About 1,000 U.S. troops, backed by attack helicopters and warplanes, swept into a village near the Syrian border Saturday in an offensive aimed at rooting out al-Qaida militants and stemming violence ahead of a crucial vote on a new constitution. U.S. aircraft firing missiles struck houses and cars, sending palls of smoke into the sky as the forces moved into Sadah, according to residents contacted by The Associated Press. In the evening, Marines and insurgents clashed in the streets, they said. The U.S. military said al-Qaida in Iraq, the country's most fearsome militant group behind...

Saturday, October 01, 2005 - The Danish Air Force has paid 30,000 krones (about $4,800) in damages to a local Santa Claus after its F-16s scared his only reindeer to death, Danish television reported Friday. The incident occurred in February at the farm of Olavi Niikanoff, who fulfils traditional Christmas time work as a local Santa Claus. Niikanoff said his reindeer, Rudolph, was quietly grazing when two F-16s appeared out of nowhere and roared over the terrified animal. The reindeer died on the spot from a heart attack, a veterinarian said. The farmer demanded compensation from the Air Force. After...

COPENHAGEN -- A musical about the Iraq war, Let's Kick Ass!, was to open in Copenhagen on Thursday, featuring a satirical depiction of US President George W. Bush and his faithful ally in Iraq, Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Let's Kick Ass!, a reference to a Bush quote, is an adaptation of British musical Follow My Leader by Alistair Beaton, which targets Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Like 'Oh, What A Lovely War', which was a reaction to the madness of the First World War, this is an attempt to react to Denmark's participation in a war of...

A DANISH soldier was killed and two others wounded when a roadside bomb blew up alongside a Danish military vehicle outside Basra in southern Iraq today, Iraqi police said. An official at the Danish Ministry of Defence in Copenhagen confirmed that there had been an attack on a Danish military vehicle, but said he could not confirm the number of casualties. "We are investigating further at this time," the military official said, asking that his name not be used. Iraqi police officer Mohammed Uraibi told Reuters from the scene that the attack occurred just outside Basra, Iraq's second largest city....

Denmark's Liberal-Conservative government and the opposition's Social Democrats agree on continuing Danish military presence in Iraq. Danish military reports of increased Iraqi trust towards its soldiers Denmark's military presence in Iraq is faring well both at home and on the front, daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende reported Thursday. The Liberal-Conservative government agrees with the Social Democrats, the largest opposition party, that the troops' stay in Iraq should be extended when it expires in June. Their tasks, however, will be aimed in a more humanitarian direction than now. Henrik Lyhne, chief of the Danish battalion in Basra, said the local population had...

Denmark´s 500-strong military force in Iraq was rotated out this weekend after a six-month tour of duty. A new 500-strong contingent of Danish soldiers has been stationed in Iraq to relief the troops staying there for the last six months. The new troops will be stationed at Camp Danevang, located within the confines of the British Shaiba Log Base in the Shia Muslim dominated southern Iraq. Despite roadside bombs and occasional shootings, the region has remained relatively peaceful, and no Danes have been seriously injured in clashes with Iraqis. The old contingent was responsible for monitoring the Iraqi election. Colonel...

A Danish army intelligence officer and four military police sergeants have been charged with mistreating Iraqi prisoners in southern Iraq last year.Captain Annemette Hommel was charged with four counts of negligence while on duty in March, April and June 2004. All five are accused of verbal abuse of detainees, denying them food and water, and forcing them to kneel in discomfort during interrogation. Denmark has about 500 troops in southern Iraq, near Basra. No date has been set for a trial. The defendants could face a year in jail if found guilty. 'Misunderstanding'Capt Hommel, 37, who was ordered to return...

Bush Thanks Denmark for Troops, Pledges Iraq's Sovereignty By Gene HarperAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 28, 2004 – President Bush thanked Denmark for its troop support to Operation Iraqi Freedom during Danish Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen's visit to the White House today. "The moms and dads of those troops need to know they're performing brilliantly," Bush said. "They're good, strong soldiers who bring great credit to your country." Rasmussen confirmed Denmark's commitment in Iraq. "We will stay and finish our job," he said. "Our common goal is to assist the Iraqi people in building a new, modern and...

After a brief exchange of fire with Iraq insurgents on Saturday, Danish forces have received tips from local informants on the individuals involved Following a two hour-long exchange of fire with Iraqi insurgents over the weekend, Danish troops stationed in southern Iraq have received several crucial leads from Iraqi locals in their hunt for armed, masked militants involved in the confrontation. According to the Army Operational Command (HOK), Danish troops received advance warning of an ambush planned west of the city of Al Qurna, and sent a large contingent to the area ahead of time. The Danish unit encountered some...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Danish soldiers killed an Iraqi man after the truck he was driving didn't slow down as it approached their checkpoint, the military said Friday. The soldiers, part of the nearly 500-man Danish military contingent in Basra and nearby Qurnah, 250 miles southeast of Baghdad, were manning the checkpoint when the shooting happened. A spokesman for the Army Operational Command said the soldiers fired warning shots at the truck to make it slow down. When it didn't, they opened fire, killing the driver. A passenger in the truck escaped. Danish military officials didn't say what the truck...