US Army Sergeant Mark H. Schoonhoven

US Army Sergeant Mark H. Schoonhoven died on 20th January 2013 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He had been critically injured when a bomb exploded while he was serving in Kabul on 15th December last year.

38-year-old Sgt. Schoonhoven, from Plainwell, Michigan, was assigned to the Colorado-based 32nd Transportation Company, 43rd Sustainment Brigade.

This was his third tour in Afghanistan, having previously deployed there in 2007-2008 and in 2009-2010. He joined the Army in 2006.

US Police Mentor Joseph Griffin killed in Kabul shooting

49-year-old Joseph Griffin, from Mansfield, Georgia, was shot and killed in Kabul on 24th December 2012.

His killer was a policewoman identified only as Sergeant Nargas, an Iranian who went to Afghanistan 10 years ago with her husband and obtained a fake ID through him, according to a report in The Guardian.

Mr Griffin was employed by US-based DynCorp International and was in the country supporting the Afghan Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police Development Program (AMDP).

Nargas walked into a heavily-guarded compound in the heart of Kabul, confronted Griffin and shot him with a pistol. Investigators are still unclear on a motive for the attack.

Afghan government spokesman, Sediq Sediqi, told a news conference that Nargas, in her early 30s and a mother of four, was born in Tehran and moved to Afghanistan 10 years ago after marrying an Afghan national. She joined the Afghan police five years ago and had a clean record within the force.

He went on to say that "her mental condition is not good," and described her as "unstable." He also told press that she had recently attended a training course in Egypt and had been assessed as "not being normal," in a reference to her mental state.

A statement on the DynCorp International website stated that Mr Griffin had worked in support of several of the company's global training and mentoring programs since November 2000 and that he deployed to Afghanistan in July 2011. The statement also says about Mr Griffin that he was "A veteran of the U.S. military who served in various U.S.-based law enforcement positions over the years, Mr. Griffin was an experienced professional who will be missed by his colleagues.

US Adviser killed by Afghan policewoman

Kabul: Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin has said in a statement to press that a female member of the Afghan Police shot and killed a US Adviser at Kabul Police HQ today, Monday 24th December.

Amin did not release any further information regarding the incident, stating that an investigation was in progress. NATO military command confirmed it was investigating reports of the shooting.

The victim has been named as 49-year-old Joseph Griffin.

US Navy SEAL Nicolas Checque killed during hostage rescue mission

28-year-old US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, from Pennsylvania, was killed during a mission to rescue kidnapped American doctor, Dilip Joseph near Kabul on 8th December 2012.

PO Checque was a member of the US Navy's Special Warfare Development Group, more commonly known as SEAL Team Six, the unit involved in the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. It has not been reported if he was part of the bin Laden mission.

He enlisted in the Navy in October 2002 and commenced training with the Navy's Special Warfare unit in April 2003. The 10-year veteran had previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

British woman, Jeni Ayris, among victims of Kabul suicide bombing

British woman Jeni Ayris, from Edinburgh, was one of twelve aviation workers killed in Kabul on Tuesday 18th September 2012 when a female insurgent rammed a car laden with explosives into their minibus as they drove to Kabul airport.

Ms Ayris, who was born in South Africa but held British nationality, had been working in Afghanistan for just over a year as a customer relations manager for aviation firm Air Charter Solutions/BalmOral, organising private flights for charities and NGOs into and out of the country.

Eight South African colleagues of Ms Ayris also died in the attack.

Read the full story at the Daily Mail

Eight South Africans killed in Kabul suicide bombing named

Eight South African aviation workers in Kabul were killed on Tuesday 18th September 2012 when a female insurgent rammed a car laden with explosives into their minibus as they drove to Kabul airport.

They were working in Afghanistan for aviation firm Air Charter Solutions/BalmOral, organising private flights for charities and NGOs into and out of the country.

Their names have been released by the South African Department of International Relations and Co-operation.

"The Department has consulted with the families of the deceased and hereby releases their names with permission from their families," said spokesman Nelson Kgwete in a statement on Wednesday.

The victims were:

Christian Johannes Justus Pretorius, 30, from Pretoria, Gauteng

Fraser Angus Carey, 31, from Johannesburg, Gauteng

Brandon Quinn Booth, 47, from Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal

Johan Abraham van Huyssteen, 31, from Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape

Johan Frederick Bouchaud, 30, from Johannesburg, Gauteng

Johannes Judenis Humphries, 65, from Centurion, Gauteng

Steven Leong, 31, from Johannesburg, Gauteng

Jenny Margaret Ayris, 46, from Scotland in the United Kingdom

US Contractor Capt. Billy Ross Blankenship dies in Kabul

American contractor, Captain Billy Ross Blankenship, from Oklahoma, died in Afghanistan on 18th April 2012. 43-year-old Blankenship was working in Kabul as a contractor for Intelligence Software Solutions Inc. His cause of death is under investigation.

He joined the US Air Force Reserve while at High School and enlisted with the Army in 1989, during which time he served in Iraq. After four years of active duty, Blankenship served in the Oklahoma National Guard and was commissioned in 2001. He was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003 and served until 2010.

Click here for the full story at NewsOK

US Army Captain Aaron Istre

US Army Captain Aaron D. Istre, aged 37, died in Kabul on 24th March 2012. The circumstances of his death are being investigated.

Capt. Istre deployed to Afghanistan in December 2011. He had previously served in Iraq.

His awards and decorations include two Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, five Army Achievement Medals, Army Good Conduct Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, two Overseas Service Ribbon, and NATO Medal.

He joined the military in November 1998 and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), at Fort Hood since June 2009.

US Army Brigadier General Terence Hildner

US Army Brigadier General Terence J. Hildner, died in Kabul province on 3rd February 2012 apparently from natural causes, the US military said. He had commanded the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, based at Fort Hood, Texas, since August 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan in December.

Brig. Gen. Hildner served in Iraq during both Operation Desert Storm and the 2003 Iraqi war. He also served in Kuwait and was part of the last US patrol along the East-West German border before its reunification.

He assumed command of the 13th Corps Support Command's Special Troops Battalion at Fort Hood in 2003 and was in charge during two deployments, one in Iraq and one following Hurricane Katrina.

49-year-old Brig. Gen. Hildner graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 and attended the US Army Command and General Staff College in 1997. From July 2007 to July 2009, he led the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade.

Video: Kabul suicide bomb attack 29 October 2011

Romanian Army 2nd Lt. Catalin Marinescu

Romanian soldier, Catalin Ionel Marinescu of the 26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab" was severely injured by the explosion of an improvised explosive device, while patrolling the A1 highway near Kabul, Afghanistan. He died in hospital, 10th May 2011, from the injuries he sustained from the blast.

Marinescu was 28 and was not married. Romanian Defense Minister Gabriel Oprea posthumously promoted Marinescu to the rank of Second-Lieutenant.

This is the second Romanian soldier killed in Afghanistan in less than a week.

Romania has about 1,700 troops deployed in Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

USAF Major Jeffrey Ausborn

USAF Major Jeffrey O. Ausborn, aged 41, from Gadsden, was one of eight US military personnel killed by an Afghan Air Force pilot on 27th April 2011 in Kabul. He was assigned to the 99th Flying Training Squadron based at Randolph Air Base in Texas.

Major Ausborn, a 19-year veteran of the Air Force, had volunteered to go to Afghanistan last year to teach new Afghan pilots how to fly the C-27 aircraft.

In addition to his wife, Suzanna, he leaves five children: Emily, 15; Eric 12; Shelby, 10; Mitchell Maloy, 21; and Summer Maloy, 17.

USAF Master Sgt. Tara Brown

USAF Master Sergeant Tara R. Brown, aged 33, from Deltona, Florida, was one of eight US military personnel killed by an Afghan Air Force pilot on 27th April 2011 in Kabul.  She was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

M-Sgt. Brown was deployed to Afghanistan in January to train Afghan airmen on computer and networking skills. She was posthumously promoted from technical sergeant.

USAF Captain Charles Ransom

USAF Captain Charles A. Ransom, aged 31, from Midlothian, Virginia, was one of eight US military personnel killed by an Afghan Air Force pilot on 27th April 2011 in Kabul.  Capt. Ransom was assigned to the 83rd Network Operations Squadron, located at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

Capt. Ransom was a Virginia Military Institute alumnus and was vice president of the Class of 2001. He was a computer science major, and a cadet corporal platoon sergeant.

USAF Lt. Col. Frank Bryant

USAF F-16 pilot, Lt. Col. Frank Bryant was one of eight US military personnel killed in the much publicised Kabul shooting by an Afghan Air Force pilot on Wednesday 27th April 2011.

Lt. Col. Bryant had served in Iraq, where he piloted an F-16 on more than a dozen bombing missions in Baghdad and helped support a surprise raid aimed at Saddam Hussein and his sons.

USAF Major David Brodeur

USAF F-16 pilot, Major David Brodeur was one of eight US military personnel killed in the much publicised Kabul shooting by an Afghan Air Force pilot on Wednesday 27th April 2011.

Major Brodeur’s father told several news outlets that Brodeur, an F-16 pilot, had been in Afghanistan for about three months.

Brodeur was a 1999 graduate of the Air Force Academy and the father of two children, his father told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass.

“David was a wonderful and caring father, husband, son and brother who was committed to the service of his country,” Lawrence Brodeur told the newspaper. “Words are inadequate to express how much we miss him.”

USAF Captain Nathan Nylander

USAF Captain Nathan Nylander, aged 35, was killed when an Afghan military pilot opened fire during a meeting at Kabul airport, his family told The Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington, Illinois.

Captain Nylander, from Fairbury, Illinois  was a flight commander with the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing base in Kabul.

His wife and two sons and daughter live in Tucson.

Third Kabul base shooting victim identified

Major Raymond Estelle, Jr., aged 41, with 20 years service in the US Air Force was one of nine Americans killed 27th April 2011 during a meeting in Kabul by an Afghan Air Force pilot.

The Afghan pilot killed eight U.S. military personnel and an American contractor at Kabul airport after they had argued at a meeting, officials said. An Afghan pilot who spoke on the condition of anonymity identified the gunman as Ahmad Gul from Tarakhail province.

The other two victims identified are US Air Force Academy professor, Major Phil Ambard (not officially confirmed) and Private Military Contractor, James McLaughlin

US Air Force Academy professor, Phil Ambard

Major Ambard

US Air Force Academy professor, Major Philip D. Ambard, aged 44, was killed on Wednesday 27th April 2011 in an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was a foreign-language professor.

Major Ambard, from Edmonds, Washington, was serving with 460th Space Communications Squadron, based in Colorado.

Major Ambard, a fluent French and Spanish speaker, served as an instructor in both languages and was consistently rated as one of the top faculty members at the Academy.

In 2007, Major Ambard was sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages for a Ph.D. program at Denver University, which he completed in 2010. He was scheduled to return to the Department of Foreign Languages after a 365-day deployment to Kabul.

US Military Contractor, James McLaughlin

US Private Military Contractor, James McLaughlin, aged 55, was killed on Wednesday 27th April 2011 along with eight U.S military personnel by an Afghan Air Force pilot.

The shooting occurred during a morning meeting between American and Afghan officers. Nine Americans were killed and five Afghan soldiers were wounded.

The incident happened in a compound at Kabul airport which was widely covered in the world press.

Mr. McLaughlin, a retired US Army Lieutenant-Colonel with 25 years service, began working for L-3 MPRI in Afghanistan in 2008 training helicopter pilots.