US Army Pfc. Markie Sims

20-year-old US Army Pfc. Markie T. Sims was killed on 29th December 2012 when an insurgent bomb exploded beside the vehicle he was in. The incident happened during a patrol at Panjwal.

Pfc. Sims, from Citra, Florida, was serving with the Washington-based 38th Engineer Company, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

More information to follow.

Missing Georgian soldier, Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze, found dead

The body of Georgian Army Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze has been found in Afghanistan following an intensive search and rescue mission.

Sgt. Kikadze disappeared from a military base on 19th December 2012, sparking a joint-service search effort.

Defence Minister of Georgia Irakli Alasania said earlier: "Today it is the hardest day personally for me, for the Defence Ministry and the Georgian Armed Forces. Today the body of Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze has been discovered. He went missing on December 19 and since then the search and rescue operation had been going on. We express condolences to the family of deceased Georgian soldier."

Below is the news announcement in Georgian language.

Bomb kills ISAF soldier in southern Afghanistan

A NATO/ISAF soldier was killed by a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan earlier today (29th December 2012).

Update: the soldier has been names as 20-year-old US Army Pfc. Markie T. Sims

US Army Sergeant Enrique Mondragon killed in action

23-year-old US Army Sergeant Enrique Mondragon, serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Bamberg, Germany, was killed in action on 24th December 2012.

Sgt. Mondragon was on a foot patrol when his unit was attacked by enemy forces with small arms fire at Baraki Barak, Afghanistan.

More information to follow.

Bomb kills three near Military base in eastern Afghanistan

Khost, 26th December 2012: a car bomb exploded close to FOB Chapman, Khost, earlier today killing three Afghan civilians and wounding seven others, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

ISAF spokesman, Major Martin O'Donnell, confirming the report, said: "Three Afghan nationals are killed and seven Afghan nationals are wounded. We have no report of coalition casualties right now."

3 civilians killed by bomb in western Afghanistan

News in brief: three Afghan civilians in the western Afghanistan province of Farah, were killed yesterday (25th December) when the vehicle they were travelling in drove over a hidden bomb.

The incident happened in the Bakwa district. The victims were heading towards Herat, Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, a provincial police spokesman, said.

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.

Afghan police officer kills five colleagues

Afghan Police. CROWN COPYRIGHT.

An Afghan police officer, identified as Dur Mohammad, shot dead five of his colleagues earlier today - Monday 24th December - in the northern province of Jawzjan, an official said.

Dur Mohammad, the head of the police post, is thought to have joined the Taliban insurgents after the deadly shooting, provincial police chief Abdul Aziz Ghairat said.

"He shot dead five of his colleagues and fled and joined the Taliban," Ghairat said.

The gunman and victims were part of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a US-backed community police force tasked with guarding Afghan villages against Taliban attacks.

The incident is the latest in a string of attacks by Afghan Police and Army personnel on their own men or foreign allies. Earlier in the day, a female Afghan police officer killed a foreign adviser in the capital Kabul. Click here for that report.

Update on missing Georgia soldier

The Georgia Ministry of Defence has issued an update on the status of a soldier missing in Afghanistan since 19th December.

The SAR (Search and Rescue) operation is ongoing and the mission - involving Georgia and ISAF troops - is being led by Deputy Chief of Joint Staff of GAF, Brigadier-General Vakhtang Kapanadze.

The soldier was reported as missing on 19th December. Since then, a rigorous search mission has been in operation. Georgia currently has two battalions operating in Helmand province; 12/1 Infantry and 32/3 Infantry. 19 Georgian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2010.

Update: The body of Georgian Army Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze was found on 29th December 2012.

ISAF soldier killed in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL: A NATO/ISAF soldier died today, Monday 24th December, following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan.

No further details have been released as yet, but it is confirmed that this incident is not related to an earlier shooting at Kabul Police HQ.

More information to follow.

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 Commander Job W. Price

US Navy Commander Job W. Price, died on 22nd December 2012 from a non-combat related injury in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

42-year-old Cmdr Price was in charge of mission coordination for Navy SEAL Team 4, according to reports by CNN.

CNN reported that staff found Cmdr Price's body with an apparent gunshot wound, which has led to speculation that the cause of death was suicide. However, the incident is being investigated.

More information to follow.

Photo courtesy of US Navy

British soldier killed by British sniper. Mother seeks apology from MOD

A British woman whose son was shot dead in Afghanistan seeks an apology from the Ministry of Defense. 

Helen Perry's son, Michael, was shot and killed while serving in Afghanistan as a Royal Military Police officer, attached the The Rifles. 

• Five months passed before she discovered how her son died
• He was shot and killed by a British sniper who thought he was firing at an insurgent
• Sat in the same room as the sniper who killed her son during a Hearing into the shooting

Read the full story at The Guardian

NEWS: Georgian soldier missing in Afghanistan

The Georgia Ministry of Defence has issued a statement concerning a Georgian soldier who has gone missing in Afghanistan.

The soldier disappeared on 19th December whilst serving with the Georgian Army in Helmand. The circumstances of his disappearance are as yet unknown. A Search and Rescue operation is currently underway.

Georgia has two battalions operating in Helmand province; 12/1 Infantry and 32/3 Infantry. 19 Georgian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2010.

Update: the body of Georgian Army Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze was found on 29th December 2012.

US Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Lipari

39-year-old US Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin E. Lipari, from Baldwin, New York, died in Logar province on 14th December 2012.

Sgt. Lipari served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Germany.

The circumstances surrounding his death are currently being investigated. More information to follow.