Brit soldier, Joseva Vatubua, killed by IED

Pvt. Joseva Vatubua

Private Joseva Saqanagonedau Vatubua, from The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS), was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 1 January 2011.

Private Vatubua deployed to Afghanistan on 21 October 2010 with B Company, 5 SCOTS, as part of the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment Battle Group. He was based at Check Point Salaam, near Patrol Base 5, in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. 

On 1 January 2011 he was part of a deliberate company operation to target known enemy firing positions to the north of the village of Sayedabad. At 1715hrs an explosion occurred, assessed to be the result of an improvised explosive device placed in the wall of a compound, which tragically killed Private Vatubua.

Private Vatubua was born on 25 February 1986 in Suva, Fiji, where he grew up and attended Laucala Bay Secondary School. He joined the British Army in 2007 and successfully completed the Combat Infantryman's Course at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick in December 2007. He was posted to B Company, 5 SCOTS, as a Rifleman, where he remained.

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