Danish Special Forces Commando Rene Brink Jakobsen killed in Helmand

39-year-old Danish Army Oversergent (Warrant Officer) René Brink Jakobsen was killed late Wednesday 2nd January 2013 when a bomb exploded while he was on a foot patrol in the Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand province.

WO Jakobsen, a member of an elite Danish Special Forces Ranger unit had been in the Army for several years, according to a statement from the Danish Army.

He leaves his wife and three children.

Australian Commando, Sergeant Brett Wood

Australian Special Forces Sergeant Brett Wood, aged 32, was killed in southern Afghanistan on 23rd May 2011 when a bomb was detonated while Sgt. Wood and his unit were conducting clearance operations.

Sgt. Wood, from Victoria, served with the elite 2nd Commando Regiment. With over 15 years military service, he had served in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Iraq. This was his third deployment to Afghanistan. In 2006 he was awarded the Medal for Gallantry.

Australian Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston described Sgt. Wood as a "decorated warrior."

U.S Army Sergeant Travis M. Tompkins

Sgt. Tompkins

U.S Army Sergeant Travis M. Tompkins, aged 31, from Lawton, Oklahoma, died 16th March 2011 in Logar province, Afghanistan, from injuries he sustained the previous day, when enemy forces attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Sgt. Tompkins was a Military Policeman, assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, Louisiana.

He joined the Army in January 2000 and had served in the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. He deployed to Afghanistan in October 2010.

His awards and medals include Bronze Star, Purple Heart, NATO Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, among others.

Sgt. Tompkins leaves a wife and two children.

Romanian Special Forces Captain, Petre Tiberius

Captain Petre Tiberius

Romanian Special Forces Captain, Petre Tiberius, was killed in a fierce gun battle with Taliban insurgents on 3rd April 2009.

Serving with 'The Eagles' Special Operations Battalion, Captain Tiberius and his unit responded to a call for reinforcements to help other units under fire.

When they arrived, the battle intensified with much small-arms and rocket propelled grenade fire.

The Captain was shot during the battle. Despite emergency medical aid, he died from his wounds.

He leaves a wife and a one-year-old daughter.

Australian special forces soldier killed

The 25-year-old Australian special forces soldier killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan was a leader with a "great sense of personal integrity", his former teacher says.

Signaller Sean McCarthy was killed in a bomb blast while conducting vehicle patrols in an area believed to be occupied by the Taliban. Two other Australian soldiers were also hurt.

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Australian SAS Sergeant Andrew Russell

SAS Sgt. Russell

Thirty-three-year-old Sergeant Andrew Russell, from the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment, has been killed in action in Afghanistan. 

Sgt. Russell suffered fatal wounds on 16th February, 2002 when the long-range patrol vehicle in which he was travelling struck a suspected anti-vehicle mine.

He was one of five Australian personnel travelling in the vehicle, but was the only person wounded in the explosion.

Combat Search and Rescue helicopters were launched from Kandahar 13 minutes after the task group headquarters was notified of the incident at 11.58pm Australian Eastern Summer Time.

Despite the efforts of a three-member US military rescue team, who parachuted into the scene to stabilise him in preparation for evacuation by helicopter, he was pronounced dead after arriving at a United States medical facility in Kandahar.