Three Italian soldiers killed in Shindand

L-R: Francesco Messineo, Francesco Curro, Luca Valente

Three Italian soldiers were killed on 20th February 2012 when the Lynx VTLM vehicle they were in overturned while crossing a river, trapping three of the crew inside.

The incident happened about 20km south-west of Shindand during a recovery and rescue operation of another unit that was stranded by bad weather.

The three soldiers, all serving with 66 Military Aircraft Regiment were named as:

Chief Corporal Francesco Currò, 1st Corporal Luca Valente and 1st Corporal Francesco Paolo Messineo.

A fourth soldier was injured in the accident and is currently in a stable condition in hospital.

Italian Embassy official Cristiano Congiu

Italian anti-narcotics Police Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Cristiano Congiu was killed in Afghanistan last week.

Lt. Col. Congiu had worked at the Italian embassy in Kabul for four years. His assignment ended on 31st May, and he travelled to the Mokni Valley in Panjsher province to visit emerald mines with an un-named American woman and an Afghan interpreter.

There are different versions of the circumstances surrounding his death. Some Afghan sources say he was beaten to death by a mob after he shot a local man who had assaulted his female companion. Other sources say he was shot by locals.

50-year-old Lt. Col. Congiu, from Rome, leaves a wife and daughter who live in Pontecorvo, Italy.

Italian officials are still investigating the killing.

Italian Military Fatalities in Afghanistan

ITALY

Italian military fatalities in Afghanistan since 1998

Date	Name	Rank	Age	Unit	Cause
2012
25-Oct	Chierotti, Tiziano	Corporal	24	2nd Alpine Regiment	Hostile fire
25-Jun	Braj, Manuele	1st Corporal	30	PSTT	Hostile fire
24-Mar	Silvestri, Michele	Sergeant	33	21 Engineer Regiment	Hostile fire
20-Feb	Curro, Francesco	Chief Cpl.	32	66 Aircraft Regiment	Accident
20-Feb	Valente, Luca	1st Corporal	28	66 Aircraft Regiment	Accident
20-Feb	Messineo, Francesco P.	1st Corporal	28	66 Aircraft Regiment	Accident
13-Jan	Gallo, Giovanni	Lt. Colonel	49	152nd Infantry Regiment	Illness
2011
23-Sep	Bucci, Riccardo	Lieutenant	34	Venezia Regiment	Accident
23-Sep	Frasca, Mario	Cpl. Maj.	32	HQ Land Forces Command	Accident
23-Sep	Di Legge, Massimo	Cpl. Maj.	28	Central Logistics Group	Accident
25-Jul	Tobini, David	Cpl. Maj.	28	183rd Parachute Regt.	Hostile fire
12-Jul	Marchini, Roberto	Cpl. Maj.	28	8th Parachute Engineers	IED attack
02-Jul	Tuccillo, Gaetano	Corporal	29	Logistics Btn, Ariete Bgd.	IED attack
04-Jun	Congui, Cristiano	Lt. Colonel	50	Italian Embassy, Kabul	Murdered
28-Jan	Ranzani, Massimo	Captain	37	5th Alpine Regiment	IED attack
18-Jan	Sanna, Luca	Corporal	33	8th Alpine Regiment	Friendly fire
2010
31-Dec	Miotto, Matteo	Corporal	24	7th Alpine Regiment	Hostile fire
09-Oct	Ville, Sebastian	Corporal	27	7th Alpine Regiment	IED attack
09-Oct	Pedone, Marco	Corporal	23	7th Alpine Regiment	IED attack
09-Oct	Manca, Gianmarco	Corporal	32	7th Alpine Regiment	IED attack
09-Oct	Vannozzi, Francesco	Corporal	26	7th Alpine Regiment	IED attack
17-Sep	Romani, Alessandro	Lieutenant	36	9th Assault Regiment	Hostile fire
28-Jul	De Cillis, Pierdavide	Corporal	33	21st Regiment	IED attack
28-Jul	Gigli, Mauro	WO1	41	32nd Alpine Engineers	IED attack
24-Jul	Callegaro,Marco	Captain	37	121 Artillery Regt.	Suicide
23-Jun	Positano, Francesco	Corporal	0	32nd Alpine Engineers	Accident
17-May	Pascazio, Luigi	Corporal	24	32nd Alpine Engineers	IED attack
17-May	Ramadù, Massimiliano	Sergente	33	32nd Alpine Engineers	IED attack
26-Feb	Colazzo, Pietro Antonio	Dr.	48	AISE Intelligence Service	Hostile fire
2009
15-Oct	Ponsiano, Rosario	Corporal	25	4th Alpine Parachute	Accident
17-Sep	Fortunato, Antonio	Lieutenant	29	186 Parachute Regiment	Suicide bomb
17-Sep	Valente, Roberto	Sergente	31	187 Parachute Regiment	Suicide bomb
17-Sep	Mureddu, Matteo	Corporal	26	186 Parachute Regiment	Suicide bomb
17-Sep	Pistonami, Giandomenico	Corporal	26	186 Parachute Regiment	Suicide bomb
17-Sep	Randino, Massimiliano	Corporal	32	183 Parachute Regiment	Suicide bomb
17-Sep	Ricchiuto, Davide	Corporal	26	186 Parachute Regiment	Suicide bomb
14-Sep	Di Lisio, Alessandro	Corporal	25	187 Parachute Regiment	IED attack
15-Jan	Forcucci, Arnaldo	WO	42	Not reported yet	Illness
2008
21-Sep	Caroppo, Alessandro	Corporal	23	8th Rifle Regiment	Illness
13-Feb	Pezzulo, Giovanni	1st Marshal	44	Cimic Group South	Hostile fire
2007
24-Nov	Paladini, Daniele	CWO	35	2nd Pontieri Regiment	Suicide bomb
04-Oct	D'Auria, Lorenzo	Chief Marshal	33	Intelligence agency	Hostile fire
2006
30-Sep	Cardella, Vincenzo	Corporal Mjr	24	2nd Alpine Regiment	IED attack
26-Sep	Langella, Giorgio	Corporal	31	2nd Alpine Regiment	IED attack
20-Sep	Orlando, Giuseppe	Corporal Mjr	28	2nd Alpine Regiment	Accident
07-Feb	Liguori, Carlo	Lt Colonel	41	Not reported yet	No report
05-May	Polsinelli, Luca	WO	28	9th Alpine Regiment	IED attack
05-May	Fiorito, Manuel	Lieutenant	27	2nd Alpine Regiment	IED attack
2005
11-Oct	Sanfilippo, Michele	Caporal	34	Not reported yet	Accident
03-Feb	Vianini, Bruno	Commander	41	Special Operations Force	Plane crash
2004
03-Oct	Giovanni, Bruno	Corporal Mjr	24	3rd Alpine Regiment	Accident
1998
21-Aug	Calo, Carmine	Lt. Colonel		UN Observer	Hostile fire

Italian officer, Massimo Ranzani

Capitano Massimo Ranzani

The Italian soldier killed today (28th February) is Captain Massimo Ranzani, of the 5th Alpine Regiment. The incident occured about 25km north of Shindand when a joint Italian-Afghan military convoy got hit by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Four other soldiers were injured in the blast and air evacuated to hospital.

The patrol was part of an operation providing medical assistance to the local population.

The Italian Army reports that Ranzani has been posthumously promoted from the rank of 1st Lieutenant to Captain.

Leave a tribute to Captain Ranzani

Italian soldier killed in western Afghanistan

This post has now been Updated: Captain Massimo Ranzani

Italian soldier, Luca Sanna

Luca Sanna

An Italian soldier was killed in a firefight in the northwestern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the 36th to die since Italy's mission began in 2004, defence minister Ignazio La Russa said.

The soldier, Luca Sanna, was hit in the head and died immediately from his injuries during an insurgent attack on an advance base in the Bala Murghab Valley.

"Sanna's assailant was wearing an Afghan soldier's uniform and managed to find an excuse to get up close to the base," La Russa said.

"This was not a friendly fire incident. The attacker pretended he needed help cleaning his gun as it had jammed, and so was able to open fire on the soldiers before escaping," said La Russa.

A colleague of Sanna's from the Highlander advance base was wounded in the shoulder in the gun battle but was said to be in a stable condition.

Italian Alpine soldier, Corporal Matteo Miotto

Italian Corporal Matteo Miotto, aged 24, was killed on 31st December 2010.

The soldier, with the Italian Army 7th Alpine Regiment of Belluno, was shot by a sniper and died from the wound later the same day.

The incident happened in Gulistan.

Italian soldier, Corporal Francesco Vannozzi

Cpl. Francesco Vannozzi

Corporal Francesco Vannozzi, aged 26, serving with the Italian 7th Alpine Regiment was one of four Italian soldiers killed 9th October 2010 in a battle with Taliban insurgents.

Their patrol was returning to base in Farah province when the vehicles were struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). Following the blast, Taliban then attacked the patrol with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Cpl. Vannozzi was born in Pisa, Italy.

The four dead soldiers all served with the 7th Alpini Regiment.

Italian soldier, Corporal Gianmarco Manca

Cpl. Gianmarco Manca

Corporal Gianmarco Manca, aged 32, serving with the Italian 7th Alpine Regiment was one of four Italian soldiers killed 9th October 2010 in a battle with Taliban insurgents.

Their patrol was returning to base in Farah province when the vehicles were struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). Following the blast, Taliban then attacked the patrol with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Cpl. Manca was born in Alghero, Italy.

The four dead soldiers all served with the 7th Alpini Regiment.

Italian soldier, Corporal Sebastiano Ville

Sebastiano Ville

Corporal Sebastiano Ville, aged 27, serving with the Italian 7th Alpine Regiment was one of four Italian soldiers killed 9th October 2010 in a battle with Taliban insurgents.

Their patrol was returning to base in Farah province when the vehicles were struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). Following the blast, Taliban then attacked the patrol with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Cpl. Ville was born in Lentini, Italy.

The four dead soldiers all served with the 7th Alpini Regiment.

Italian soldier, Corporal Marco Pedone

Cpl. Marco Pedone

Corporal Marco Pedone, aged 23, serving with the Italian 7th Alpine Regiment was one of four Italian soldiers killed 9th October 2010 in a battle with Taliban insurgents.

Their patrol was returning to base in Farah province when the vehicles were struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). Following the blast, Taliban then attacked the patrol with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Cpl. Pedone was born in Gagliano del Capo, Italy.

The four dead soldiers all served with the 7th Alpini Regiment.

Italian Special Forces officer, Lt. Alessandro Romani

Lt. Alessandro Romani

Lieutenant Alessandro Romani, aged 36, was killed in a battle with Taliban extremists on 17th September 2010.

Lt. Romani was part of an operation to capture some known terrorists when his unit came under heavy fire. The incident happened in Bakwa district.

Another Italian Special Forces soldier was wounded in the battle.

Lt. Romani served with the elite 9th Parachute Assault Brigade and had served in many of the world's conflict zones during his career.

He was born in Rome, Italy.

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 officer, Captain Marco Callegaro

Capt. Marco Callegaro

Italian Captain Marco Callegaro, aged 37, and serving with the 121st Artillery Regiment in Kabul, skot and killed himself in his office on 24th July 2010.

Captain Callegaro had just returned to Afghanistan after a period of leave in Italy. He was due to serve another 6 months in Kabul.

He was born in Gavello, in the province of Rovigo, and leaves behind a wife and two children.

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 AISE agent Pietro Antonio Colazzo

Italian Secret Service agent Pietro Antonio Colazzo, age 48, was one of eighteen foreigners killed on 26th February 2010 during a terrorist attack on two hotels in Kabul.

He was shot and killed as he was alerting police to the attack on the phone. According to Abdul Rahman Rahman, the commander of Kabul's police, Colazzo "was in a room right behind the attackers and he could see what was happening."

Colazzo, who lived in Rome, was praised by Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, as "a faithful government servant who died doing his job."

The combined suicide-bomb and shooting attack claimed the lives of ten other foreigners including nine Indian medical staff and French filmmaker Severin Blanchet plus three Afghan police officers.

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.