Spanish Air Force Lt. Pedro Lopez Molina

Spanish Air Force Lieutenant Pedro López Molina, died on 27th May 2011 at the Forward Support Base in Herat (Afghanistan), apparently from natural causes.

The officer fell ill that morning and decided to retire to his accommodation to rest. Later, a colleague went to visit him and found him dead.

Lt. López Molina, 50 years old, was born in Zaragoza and was stationed at 31 Wing based at Zaragoza Air Base.

US Army Sgt. Ken Hermogino

US Army Sergeant Ken K. Hermogino, aged 30, died on 9th May 2011 in Herat province, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained in a vehicle accident.

Sgt. Hermogino was serving with the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Italian bomb-disposal expert, WO1 Mauro Gigli

WO1 Mauro Gigli

Italian Army Warrant Officer, Mauro Gigli, was one of two Italian bomb-disposal experts killed 28th July 2010 while attempting to defuse a roadside bomb 10km north of Herat.

The two experienced engineers were part of a IEDD (Improvided Explosive Device Disposal) team. As they were trying to defuse the device, when it exploded.

WO1 Gigli, aged 41 and born in Sassari, Italy, served with the Turin-based 32nd Regiment of Engineers (Brigata Alpina Taurinense).

Italian bomb-disposal expert, Cpl. Pierdavide de Callis

Cpl. Pierdavide de Callis

Italian Army Corporal, Pierdavide de Cillis, was one of two Italian bomb-disposal experts killed 28th July 2010 while attempting to defuse a roadside bomb 10km north of Herat.

The two experienced engineers were part of a IEDD (Improvided Explosive Device Disposal) team. As they were trying to defuse the device, it exploded.

Cpl. de Callis, aged 33 and born in Bisceglie, Italy, served with the 21st Regiment of Engineers based at Caserta.

Italian Army Corporal Francis Xavier Positano

Corporal Francis Xavier Positano, aged 29, died in an accident on the road between Shindand and Herat, on 23rd June 2010. He served with the 32nd Engineers Regiment, the Brigade Alpine Taurinense.

A column of armoured vehicles was on a reconnaisance patrol when Cpl. Positano apparantly fell from a vehicle. He suffered a serious head injury in the fall and was evacuated by helicopter to an American Field Hospital but died shortly after arriving there.

If anyone has a positive photo of Corporal Positano, please contact us so that we can add it to his obituary.

Italian Army Sergeant, Massimiliano Ramadu

Sgt. Massimiliano Ramadu

Italian Sergeant, Massimiliano Ramadu, aged 33, was one of two soldiers killed 17th May 2010, by a bomb blast along the road between Herat and Bala Murghab in northeast Afghanistan.

He was in an armoured column of joint Italian, American and Spanish troops when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated beneath the fourth vehicle in the column.

He served with the 32nd Alpine Engineers. He came from Velletri, near Rome, Italy.

Two other Italian soldiers were injured in the attack.

Italian soldier, Corporal Louis Pascazio

Cpl. Louis Pascazio

Italian Corporal, Louis Pascazio, aged 25, was one of two soldiers killed 17th May 2010, by a bomb blast along the road between Herat and Bala Murghab in northeast Afghanistan.

He was in an armoured column of joint Italian, American and Spanish troops when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated beneath the fourth vehicle in the column.

He served with the 32nd Alpine Engineers. He came from the Italian province of Bari.

Two other Italian soldiers were injured in the attack.

Italian Paratrooper, Cpl. Rosario Ponsiano

Cpl. Rosario Ponsiano

15th October 2009. Italian paratrooper, Corporal Rosario Ponsiano, was killed in an accident when a Lynx armoured personnel carrier crashed into a ravine at night on the road between Herat and Shindad.

Cpl. Ponsiano, aged 25, suffered serious injuries in the accident and died shortly after.

He served with the 4th Alpine Parachute Regiment (Matterhorn). He had been with the regiment since 2003 and had arrived in Afghanistan in August 2009.

Two other Italian soldiers were injured in the accident.

Italian Air Force NCO, Arnaldo Forcucci

Arnaldo Forcucci

Italian Air Force Marshal, Arnaldo Forcucci, aged 41, died at the Italian Base Camp, Herat, on 15th January 2009 from a heart attack.

He was an operations planner for the Italian forces in Afghanistan.

He leaves his wife and a daughter.

Two Spanish soldiers killed in suicide bomb attack

Brigadier Juan Andrés Suárez

Corporal Rubén Alonso Ríos

9th November: Two Spanish soldiers have been killed and four more injured in a suicide attack in Shindand, Afghanistan, to the south of Herat, considered to be one of the most dangerous areas of the country.

The dead men have been named as 30 year old Corporal Rubén Alonso Ríos from Vigo, and 41 year old Brigadier Juan Andrés Suárez from Mieres, Asturias. Their vehicle, which was the last one of six armoured vehicles in a convoy protecting 12 Afghan lorries, was attacked by a van packed with explosives as they formed part of Afghan National Army convoy. The two men died instantly.

Italian Army Corporal Alessandro Caroppo

Cpl. Caroppo

Italian Army Corporal Alessandro Caroppo, aged 23, died on 21st September 2008 at the Italian Base Camp in Herat.

When he failed to report for guard duty, colleagues went to his sleeping quarters to find him having difficulty breathing. He was rushed to medical facilities where he died soon after.

A native of San Pietro Vernotico, Alessandro had been part of convoy operations that had been attacked repeatedly over recent days.

The young soldier had already completed an operational tour in Lebanon and was due to end his current mission on 5th October.

Female Spanish soldier, Idoia Bujan, killed by IED

Idoia Rodríguez Buján

A female Spanish soldier has been killed in a blast near Shindand, Herat province. She is the first Spanish fatality in 2007. She also becomes the first woman Spanish soldier to lose her life while on a peace mission.

She is 23 year old Idoia Rodríguez Buján from Lugo, and was with the Light Air Transport Brigade – BRILAT - , based in Figueirido, Pontevedra, which has more than 300 women assigned to it.

She was travelling in a convoy of five armoured ambulances which was hit by a powerful mine blast on 21st February.

Italian officer, Lt. Col. Carlo Liguori

Lt. Col. Liguori

A Lieutenant Colonel of the Italian Army, Carlo Liguori, aged 41, died on 7th February 2006 in Herat, Afghanistan, from a suspected heart attack while standing in line for breakfast.

First aid was applied at the scene by surrounding soldiers but to no avail. Liguori was immediately evacuated to a Spanish Military Field hospital, where a doctor tried to revive him.

Lieutenant Colonel Liguori, originally from Gragnano, had resided in Sabaudia for years. He was married and the father of a boy of 12 years. In the military he was an advanced official in the antiaircraft artillery. His current position in service was with the General Staff of the Army.

Spanish soldiers killed in Helicopter crash

16th Aug. 2005: 17 Spanish peacekeepers were killed when a helicopter crashed during training in western Afghanistan. Five soldiers were also wounded when a second Spanish helicopter taking part in the exercise made an emergency landing as the first one plunged to the ground near the main western city of Herat.

The aircraft, a Cougar, came down in the province of Herat, "in a very mountainous region, although the impact occurred on flat ground. It is unclear whether the crash was an accident or the result of a terrorist attack.

Taliban militants in June shot down a US helicopter in eastern Afghanistan, killing all 16 aboard. But western Afghanistan, where the latest crash happened, is regarded as much more peaceful.

Pictured left are 8 of the fatalities: Cpl. Daniel Fernandez; Cpl. Gonzalo Nazara; Pvt. Isaac Pineiro; Pvt. Pedro de Veira; Pvt. Ivan Nunez; Pvt. Jesus Rivera; Pvt. Pablo Sanchez; Jose Parada.

The soldiers were all members of the 4th Helicopter Battalion and the Light Infantry, 29th Air Mobile Brigade.

Click here to see the other soldiers killed