Italian Army Sergeant Michele Silvestri killed in mortar attack

33-year-old Italian Army Sergeant Michele Silvestri, serving with the 21st Engineer Regiment, was killed in action on Saturday 24th March 2012 when his unit came under mortar fire in the Gulistan district of Farah province. Five other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Sgt. Silvestri was born in Naples and lived in Monte di Procida. He was married with an 8-year-old child. He joined the Army in 1997 and had deployed several times to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. He had been in Afghanistan just ten days into a six-month tour.

Italian Army Lt. Colonel Giovanni Gallo

49-year-old Italian Army Lieutenant Colonel Giovanni Gallo died in his sleep in Farah province from a stroke on 13th January 2012.

Lt. Col. Gallo, from Alghero in Sardinia, served with the Regional Command HQ and had been in Afghanistan for a few months. He leaves a wife and teenage son who both live in Alghero.

Caporal Maggiore Massimo Di Legge

28-year-old Italian Army Caporal Maggiore Massimo Di Legge was one of three military personnel killed on Friday 23rd September 2011 in a vehicle accident near their base in Herat, Afghanistan.

Caporal Maggiore Di Legge was born in Aprilia and served with the Central Logistics Group based in Rome. He was part of an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) involved in training Afghan National Army soldiers.

He leaves his parents and two brothers.

Friends left messages of condolence on his Facebook page. "Finding out that you died in the war has left me speechless," said one former classmate.

Caporal Maggiore Scelto Mario Frasca

Italian Army Caporal Maggiore Scelto Mario Frasca was one of three military personnel killed on Friday 23rd September 2011 in a vehicle accident near their base in Herat, Afghanistan.

The 32-year-old was born in Foggia and was based in Verona with Headquarters Land Forces Command. He joined the Italian Army in 1999 and served in Kosovo and Afghanistan prior to this deployment.

He was part of an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) involved in training Afghan National Army soldiers.

Lieutenant Riccardo Bucci

Italian Army Lieutenant Riccardo Bucci was one of three military personnel killed on Friday 23rd September 2011 in a vehicle accident near their base in Herat, Afghanistan.

34-year-old Lt. Bucci, who was born in Milan, served with the Reggimento Lagunari 'Serenissima' having served in that regiment since 2007. This was his second deployment to Afghanistan. He also previously served in Bosnia.

He was part of an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) involved in training Afghan National Army soldiers.

Lt. Bucci leaves behind his wife and 13-month-old child.

Three Italian soldiers killed

Three Italian soldiers were killed in a road accident near their base at Herat, in western Afghanistan on Friday 23rd September 2011. The incident is being investigated.

The three soldiers who died are:

Lieutenant Riccardo Bucci, from the "Serenissima" Regiment in Mestre;

Caporal Maggiore Scelto Mario Frasca, from Land Forces Command Operations in Verona

Caporal Maggiore Massimo Di Legge, from the Group Logistics Center in Rome.

Two other soldiers were injured in the accident.

Italian Paratrooper David Tobini

Italian paratrooper, Caporal Maggiore David Tobini, was killed in action on Monday 25th July 2011 during a gun battle with enemy forces near Bala Murghab. Two other Italian troops were wounded.

C-Maggiore, age 28, served with the Italian 183rd Parachute Regiment "Nimbus". He lived in Osteria Nuova, Rome, with his mother and brother. His father also lives in Rome. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan.

E’ il 1° Caporal Maggiore David Tobini, 28 anni, del 183° reggimento paracadutisti “Nembo” di Pistoia, il militare italiano rimasto ucciso oggi nel corso di un’operazione nella parte occidentale dell’Afghanistan.

Altri due soldati sono rimasti feriti, uno dei quali in modo grave.

Durante l’operazione congiunta condotta da forze italiane e afgane nella zona a nord ovest della valle di Bala Murghab, l’unità nella quale erano presenti anche i militari italiani e’ stata attaccata.

Resta in gravi condizioni uno dei due militari rimasti feriti nello scontro a fuoco, mentre il secondo non è in pericolo di vita.

Italian Army Paratrooper Roberto Marchini

Italian Army Primo Caporal Maggiore Roberto Marchini was killed by a roadside bomb on Tuesday 12th July 2011 during a joint patrol about 3km from FOB Lavaredo, in Bakwa district, Farah province, Afghanistan. It was the last day of his deployment in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Maj. Marchini, born in 1983, served with the 8th Parachute Engineer Regiment based at Legnago, a unit within the Folgore Parachute Brigade. He was a bomb-disposal engineer on his third overseas combat mission.

He joined the army in 2005 and was proud to be a part of a team specializing in reconnaissance and bomb disposal. He leaves his parents and a sister.

Italian Army Caporal Maggiore Gaetano Tuccillo

29-year-old Italian Army Caporal Maggiore Gaetano Tuccillo was killed in Afghanistan on 2nd July 2011 when a roadside bomb detonated as his mounted unit returned from a reconnaissance patrol.

The incident happened near the village of Caghaz, 16 kilometers west of Bakwa in eastern Farah. An Italian paratrooper was injured by the explosion.

Caporal Tuccillo served with the Logistics Battalion of the Maniago Aries Brigade. He was born near Naples and married to a Dutch woman.

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.

Italian Army Warrant Officer Giovanni Pezzulo

WO Pezzulo

Italian Army Warrant Officer Giovanni Pezzulo, aged 44, was killed on 13th February 2008 in a gun battle with Taliban insurgents at Rudbar, about sixty kilometres from Kabul.

WO Pezzulo's unit was distributing food and medicine to civilians when they came under attack. He had been in the army since 1980. Originally from Carinola in the province of Caserta, WO Pezzulo was resident at Oderzo in the province of Treviso and was serving with the Cimic Group South based at Motta di Livenza.

He had been in Afghanistan since December 2007 and was due to return to Italy in April.

He leaves a wife, Maria D’Agostino, and an 18-year-old daughter, Giusi, who live at Oderzo.

Italian Army CWO Daniele Paladini

CWO Paladini

Italian Army Chief Warrant Officer Daniele Paladini, aged 35, died on 24th November 2007 from wounds suffered in a suicide attack against NATO-led troops in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, in which at least six civilians were also killed.

CWO Paladini was severely injured together with thee other Italian soldiers when a bomber who had strapped explosives around his body detonated himself near the troops' convoy in Kabul's western Paghman district.

Despite emergency medical treatment, CWO Paladini could not be saved.

Italian intelligence agent, Lorenzo D'Auria

WO D'Auria

Italian intelligence agent, Warrant Officer Lorenzo D'Auria, aged 33, who was critically injured in Afghanistan during a commando raid which freed him from kidnappers, died on 10th April 2007.

WO D'Auria suffered severe injuries to the head and neck during a raid by British and Italian special forces on 24th September last year. It remains unclear whether he was shot by his captors or in friendly fire.

D'Auria, who was rushed back to Italy, was put on a life support system at Rome's Celio military hospital. Sadly he died from his injuries.

The SISMI intelligence agent, along with a fellow agent and their Afghan

interpreter, was taken hostage on 23rd September by bandits believed to be linked to the Taliban.

The second agent and the interpreter were also injured in the rescue mission but their wounds were not life-threatening. All eight of the kidnappers were killed in the raid as was the agents' Afghan driver, while the NATO forces suffered no casualties.

Italian Army Corporal Vincenzo Cardella

Vincenzo Cardella

Italian Army Corporal Vincenzo Cardella, aged 24, died on 30th September 2006 from wounds he received in a roadside bomb blast four days previously.

The incident happened 10km south of Kabul when an Italian military convoy was on the road. A bomb was remotely detonated and killed one Italian soldier outright, injuring five other soldiers and killing an Afghan child who was in a car behind the convoy.

Cpl. Cardella was evacuated to a French Military hospital and later airlifted to Italy. Surgeons were unable to save his life. 

He served with Italy's 2nd Alpine Regiment.

Italian Army Corporal Giorgio Langella

Cpl. Langella

Italian Army Corporal Giorgio Langella, aged 31, was killed on 26th September 2006 from wounds received by a roadside bomb blast.

The incident happened 10km south of Kabul when an Italian military convoy was on the road. A bomb was remotely detonated killing Cpl. Langella and injuring five other soldiers. An Afghan child who was in a car behind the convoy also died in the attack.

Cpl. Langella served with Italy's 2nd Alpine Regiment.

Italian soldier, Giuseppe Orlando

Giuseppe Orlando

Italian Corporal Major Giuseppe Orlando, aged 28, died 21st September 2006 in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a result of an accident that wounded two fellow soldiers.

Cpl. Orlando was in an armoured vehicle on a routine patrol when the avehicle in which the three were traveling rolled over while making a sharp turn because of a landslip in the land. He was a machine gunner riding in the top turret and was exposed. He died from his injuries.

The soldiers involved were members of the 22nd Company, 2nd Alpine Regiment, a component of the Battle Group 3.

Italian Army Warrant Officer, Luca Polsinelli

WO Luca Polsinelli

Italian Army Warrant Officer, Luca Polsinelli, aged 28 was killed by a remotely detonated roadside bomb on 5th May 2006.

 

WO Polsinelli was part of a 12-man patrol riding in two armoured vehicles when the incident happened. Another Italian soldier was killed and four wounded by the blast.

WO Polsinelli served with the Italian 9th Alpine Regiment. He was from the city of Orbettelo and was unmarried.

Italian Army officer, Lieutenant Manuel Fiorito

Lt. Manuel Fiorito

Italian Army officer, Lieutenant Manuel Fiorito, aged 27 was killed by a remotely detonated roadside bomb on 5th May 2006.

Lt. Fiorito was part of a 12-man patrol riding in two armoured vehicles when the incident happened. Another Italian soldier was killed and four wounded by the blast.

Lt. Fiorito served with the Italian 2nd Alpine Regiment. He was from the city of Verona and was unmarried.

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.

Italian Army Corporal, Michele Sanfilippo

Cpl. Sanfilippo

Italian Army Corporal, Michele Sanfilippo, aged 34, was found with serious head injuries in the Italian Camp at Kabul. He was immediately transferred to a German field hospital where he later died on 11th October 2005.

Cpl. Sanfilippo served with the 4th Regiment of Engineers, based in Palermo. He had been in Afghanistan since June.

He leaves a wife and two young children.