US Marine Lance Corporal Norberto Mendez Hernandez

US Marine Lance Corporal Norberto Mendez Hernandez, age 22, from Logan, Utah, died on 10th July 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

He served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, California. He joined the Marines in April 2010. This was his first combat deployment.

He leaves behind a wife and two children.

US Army Specialist Rafael Nieves Jr.

101st Airborne Spc. Rafael A. Nieves Jr. was killed in action on 10th July 2011 in Paktika province, Afghanistan during a battle with enemy forces. The 22-year-old, from Albany, New York, died from wounds sustained after his vehicle came under small-arms and RPG fire.

Spc. Nieves served with the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Spc. Nieves leaves his wife Sarah A. McKinney, their two children, Emma Grace and Rafael A. III, his father, Rafael A. Nieves Sr. and his mother, Tina R. Roman.

US Army Sergeant Christopher Soderlund

US Army 10th Mountain Division Sergeant Christopher P. Soderlund was killed in action on 9th July 2011 in Logar province, Afghanistan.

The 23-year-old soldier died from injuries received when enemy forces fired rocket-propelled grenades at his patrol vehicle. Sgt. Soderlund served with the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment.

Sgt. Soderlund joined the army in March 2006 and had been stationed at Fort Polk since November 2007. He deployed to Iraq from December 2007 to January 2009. He holds a Bronze Star and Purple Heart among other awards.

Sgt. Soderlund leaves his wife, two children and his parents.

French soldier killed in 'friendly fire' incident

France's Defence Ministry says a French soldier in Afghanistan has died after he was accidentally shot by another French soldier.

It took place early Monday (11th July) as a convoy of armoured vehicles was entering a base in Afghanistan's eastern Tagab region. The convoy was returning from an operation.

The soldier was evacuated to a military hospital in Kabul, where he died.

Update: soldier identified as Brigadier Clement Kovac

US Army Sgt. 1st Class Terryl Pasker

US Army Sergeant 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker, age 39, from Cedar Rapids, died on 9th July 2011 in Panjshir province, Afghanistan, after being shot by an Afghan security officer. The assailant was subsequently shot and killed by a US soldier.

Sfc. Pasker, served with the Iowa Army National Guard's Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. He was due to return home later this month. He enlisted in the US Army in July 1990 and joined the Iowa National Guard in April 1995.

Sfc. Pasker, leaves his wife, Erica, of Cedar Rapids, his parents, one brother and two sisters.

In the same incident, Retired US Trooper Paul Protzenko, a civilian contractor died.

Retired US State Trooper Paul Protzenko

Retired US Trooper First Class Paul Protzenko died in Afghanistan 9th July 2011 while working for a private contracting firm training Afghan police.

The 47-year-old former Connecticut State Trooper retired in 2009 after 20 years service working for the state police. Prior to that, he had served in the US Army.

At the time of the incident, in Panjshir province, Mr. Protzenko was in a vehicle with US Army Sergeant 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker. An Afghan security officer stopped their vehicle and opened fire. Both men died at the scene. A US soldier in another vehicle shot and killed the Afghan guard.

Danish soldier killed by bomb blast

A Danish soldier was killed by a bomb blast in Helmand province this morning - 10th July 2011. The soldier was evacuated by helicopter to a Military field hospital at Camp Bastion but died from his injuries.

Update: soldier named as Konstabel Alexander Biune

NATO soldier and ISAF civilian killed eastern Afghanistan 9 July

KABUL (9th July 2011): a NATO/ISAF service member and a ISAF civilian were killed following an attack in eastern Afghanistan today. The incident is under investigation. 

UPDATE: the two service members are:


US Army Sergeant 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker
and
Retired US Trooper First Class Paul Protzenko

US Marine Staff Sergeant Thomas Dudley

29-year-old US Marine Staff Sgt. Thomas Joseph Dudley, from Tega Cay, South Carolina, died on 7th July 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

SSgt. Dudley served with Marine Air Group 26, 2nd Marine Air Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station New River, Jacksonville, North Carolina. This was his sixth overseas deployment. He had just two weeks left before returning home.

SSgt. Dudley leaves his wife, Mary, and their three children - Taylor, 13, Thomas Carter, 5 and Jenna Robyn, 23 months.

US Army Sergeant Nicanor Amper

US Army Sergeant Nicanor Amper IV was killed in Khowst, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his unit with a rocket propelled grenade on 5th July 2011.

36-year-old Sgt. Nicanor, from San Jose, California, served with 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Sgt. Amper was married and had two sons from a previous marriage.

NATO soldier dies in Afghanistan 7 July 2011

KABUL: A NATO/ISAF soldier died in southern Afghanistan on 7th July 2011 from a non-battle related injury.

No further details available at this time. More to follow.

US Army Spc. Preston J. Suter

US Army Specialist Preston J. Suter, from Sandy, Utah, was one of three soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan on Tuesday 5th July 2011. He was riding in a patrol vehicle in Paktia province when a roadside bomb detonated beside it.

22-year-old Spc. Suter was based in Germany and served with the 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command.

More information to follow.

US Army Spc. Jordan Schumann

24-year-old US Army Spc Jordan C. Schumann was killed in Paktia province, Afghanistan on Tuesday 5th July 2011 by the blast of a roadside bomb while he was in a Humvee patrol vehicle.

He served with the 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, based at Hohenfels, Germany.

Spc. Schumann, son of a Port St Lucie, Florida family, graduated from St Lucie West Centennial in 2006 and is survived by his wife Sarah, their unborn baby due in September, his parents Clay and Linda, brother Clay Jr., and sister Heather.

US Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Throckmorton

US Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Throckmorton, age 28, was killed in action in Paktia province, Afghanistan on Tuesday 5th July 2011 when a roadside bomb detonated against his patrol vehicle.

SSgt. Throckmorton was a native of Battle Creek, Michigan and a father of three.

SSgt. Throckmorton was based in Germany and served with the 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command. He had previously spent fifteen months in Iraq and was three months in to a one year deployment in Afghanistan.

Crew of Azerbaijan Cargo plane crash

An Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane belonging to Silk Way Airlines of Azerbaijan crashed into a mountainside in Afghanistan's Parwan Province at approximately 21.10 GMT on 5th July. The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Bagram military base, carrying cargo for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Body parts have been found with the wreckage of the plane although no formal identifications have been possible.

It is not thought that any of the crew could have survived the crash. The airline has released the names of the nine crew members on board the aircraft.

1. Captain Sergey Kuzmin (born in 1969)
2. Co-pilot Oleg Marshikhin (born in 1979, from Azerbaijan)
3. Navigator Igor Zheng (born in 1966)
4. Engineer Vladimir Shatobin (born in 1969)
5. Radio operator Ahmedjan Khajayev (born in 1955, from Azerbajian)
6. Radio operator Elnur Mahmudov (born in 1981, from Azerbaijan)
7. Onboard operator Tapdig Gahramanov (born in 1964, from Azerbaijan)
8. Mechanic Afghan Rahimov (born in 1980, from Azerbaijan)
9. Mechanic Mehman Huseynov (born in 1962, from Azerbaijan)