Australian sergeant killed by IED

Sergeant Brett Till, a highly-respected Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician from the Incident Response Regiment in Holsworthy, New South Wales, was killed by an explosion that occurred during a route clearance task in Southern Afghanistan on Thursday, 19 March 2009.

Sergeant Till, age 31, lived in Sydney with his wife and two children. His immediate family is currently receiving support from Defence representatives.

Sergeant Till enlisted in the Australian Army in 2001 and was allocated to the Corps of Royal Australian Engineers following recruit training. Sergeant Till trained as a Combat Engineer and served with a number of units, including the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment and the School of Military Engineering.

The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, paid tribute to Sergeant Till and his extraordinary bravery.

“Sergeant Till’s selfless act to protect his mates and innocent civilians is a mark of the character of the man,” Air Chief Marshal Houston said.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Sergeant Till’s loved ones at this difficult time. His sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Australian soldier killed by small arms fire

It is with deep regret the Australian Defence Force announces the death of Corporal Mathew Hopkins during operations in Afghanistan.

Corporal Hopkins was serving with the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) in Afghanistan when he was killed while conducting a patrol near Kakarak when he and his team were engaged by a group of around 20 Taliban on Monday 16 March, 2009.

Twenty-one-year-old Corporal Hopkins was a valued member of the Darwin-based 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

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French soldier, Nicolas Belda, killed in combat

Monday 16 March 2009 on the Place d'Armes Camp Warehouse in Kabul, took place the ceremony of lifting the body of Corporal Nicolas Belda, who died in combat in Valley Alasa on 14 March 2009.

Corporal Belda, of the 27th Brigade Alpine Annecy, had joined the Afghan theater in late November 2008, with his unit in the Kapisa region.

Corporal Nicolas Belda

German Army Corporal Conrad Hoetzel

German Army Corporal Conrad Hoetzel, age 21, was killed on 14th March 2009 in Feyzabad, Afghanistan.

Cpl. Hoetzel, serving with 37 Mechanised Infantry, died in a traffic accident.

Afghan journalist killed in Kandahar

Ahmad

Ahmad, 23, was shot while driving on a main street in Kandahar, not far from the governor’s palace, according to The Canadian Press and Agence France-Presse. Another car, which the Canadian network CTV identified as a white Toyota, pulled alongside the passenger side and a gunman opened fire. 

Ahmad died at the scene, CTV said, citing Qasim Khan, the physician who pronounced him dead. The journalist was known by his nickname, Jojo, and also used the surname Yazemi or Yazamy.

Ahmad was a freelance field producer for CTV and worked for a number of other news organizations. He also pursued business projects unrelated to journalism.