U.S Army Specialist Omar Soltero

Omar Soltero

U.S Army Specialist Omar Soltero, aged 28, died on 31st January 2011, in the Wardak province of eastern Afghanistan from the blast of a hidden roadside bomb.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Spc. Soltero was one of four children and had two young sons. He was due home on leave in May 2011 for his 29th birthday.

He had previously served two tours in Kosovo.

U.S Army Staff Sgt. Omar Aceves

Omar Aceves

U.S Army Staff Sergeant Omar Aceves, aged 30, from El Paso, Texas, was killed on 12th January 2011, in Ghazni Province. He died from the blast of an improvised explosive device. 

He was a combat engineer with the 693rd Engineer Company, 7th Engineer Battalion, and had been in Afghanistan since May 2010.

Staff Sergeant Aceves joined the Army in February 2005 and had previously served in Iraq from October 2006 to January 2008.

A highly decorated soldier, his awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Badge, two Army Commendation Medals, six Army Achievement Medals, three Army Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the NATO Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Air Assault Badge and the Marksman Qualification Badge.

Norwegian Navy Lieutenant Christian Lian

Lieutenant Christian Lian

Norwegian Navy Lieutenant Christian Lian, aged 31, from Kristiansand, was one of four Norwegian military personnel killed in Afghanistan on 27th June 2010.

The four personnel were all in the same car driving along a road in the Faryab province when a roadside bomb was detonated by Taliban insurgents.

The four men were all fatally wounded in the attack.

Lt. Lian served with the Coastal Rangers.

Nowegian Navy Commander, Trond Bolle

Lt. Commander Trond Bolle

Norwegian Navy Commander, Trond Andre Bolle, aged 41, from Lena, was one of four Norwegian military personnel killed in Afghanistan on 27th June 2010.

The four personnel were all in the same car driving along a road in the Faryab province when a roadside bomb was detonated by Taliban insurgents.

The four men were all fatally wounded in the attack.

Lt. Commander Bolle served with Norwegian Naval Command.

Norwegian Navy ensign, Simen Tokle

Lt. Simen Tokle

Norwegian Navy Ensign, 2nd Lieutenant Simen Tokle, aged 24, from Ballia, was one of four Norwegian military personnel killed in Afghanistan on 27th June 2010.

The four personnel were all in the same car driving along a road in the Faryab province when a roadside bomb was detonated by Taliban insurgents.

The four men were all fatally wounded in the attack.

Lt. Tokle served with the Coastal Rangers.

Norwegian, Andreas Eldjarn

Andreas Eldjarn

Norwegian Navy Quartermaster, Andreas Eldjarn, aged 21, from Tromso, was one of four Norwegian military personnel killed in Afghanistan on 27th June 2010.

The four personnel were all in the same car driving along a road in the Faryab province when a roadside bomb was detonated by Taliban insurgents.

The four men were all fatally wounded in the attack.

QM Eldjarn served with the Coastal Rangers.

Norwegian Grenadier, Joachim Claes Olsson

Joachim Claes Olsson

Norwegian Grenadier, Joachim Claes Olsson, aged 22, and serving with an infantry unit from Norway's Telemark Battalion, was killed 25th January 2010 in Afghanistan.

Grenadier Olsson was commander of a Storm CV9030 tank and was driving in a column of other military vehicles when a roadside bomb detonated.

They on their way to meet soldiers from the Afghan army to conduct joint patrols in the area.

The incident happened in the Ghowrmach district of northern Afghanistan.

Polish Private 1st Class, Artur Pyc

Artur Pyc

Private 1st Class, Artur Pyc, with the Polish 18th Air Assault Brigade died 9th September 2009 in a military hospital at Lublin, where he had been since May.

Pfc Pyc was seriously injured in eastern Ghazni province a when a roadside bomb exploded under the mine-resistant armored vehicle he was driving.

Swedish soldier, Tomas Bergqvist, killed in bomb blast

Tomas Bergqvist

Swedish soldier, Tomas Bergqvist, aged 30, died on 9th December 2005 from injuries sustained in a bomb blast in northern Afghanistan.

He was on a routine patrol on 25th November when a roadside bomb was detonated by insurgents. Severely injured, he was immediately transferred to hospital. Unfortunately, surgeons were unable to save him.

The Swedish parliament has endorsed a gradual increase of Swedish servicemen in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force(ISAF) in Afghanistan from 90 members to 375 throughout the next two-years.

Swedish soldier, Jesper Lindblom, dies in bomb blast

Jesper Lindblom

28-year old Swedish soldier Jesper Lindblom was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on 26th November 2005. Three other Swedish soldiers were wounded by the blast, one of them is still in critical condition.

Lindblom was a Marine Ranger when he joined the secretive elite unit Särskilda skyddsgruppen (SSG) in 1999.

Sweden currently has some 100 soldiers in Afghanistan whose job is to maintain peace, such as it is, and another 100 soldiers will reinforce the unit next spring.