Dutch F-16 pilot, Captain Michael Donkervoort

Dutch Air Force F-16 pilot, Captain Michael Donkervoort, was killed on 31 August 2006 in a mysterious crash over mountainous terrain in Afghanistan.

He had taken off from Kabul International Airport as the leader of a formation of two. After join-up and climbout, the two jets headed southwest toward their intended mission area, cruising at Flight Level 320 (32,000 ft above sea level) and a relatively slow speed of 280 kts.

About four minutes after crossing the path of a commercial airliner (that was flying 1,000 ft higher than the two fighters) the pilot of the lead F-16, Captain Michael Donkervoort, suddenly made a mayday call.

His wingman, flying approximately 2 nmi away in line-abreast formation, saw Donkervoort's F-16 pitch down while starting a continuous right roll. Without any further communication from its pilot, the jet impacted the 10,000-ft high mountains 30 seconds later, in a near vertical attitude (80 degrees nose down and 120 degrees right bank) at very high speed (approximately Mach 1.2). Capt. Donkervoort was killed instantly.

Dutch helicopter crash kills two

Two Dutch military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash on 26th July 2006. Dutch Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Jan van Twist, aged 47, an air force legal officer and Sergeant Bart van Boxtel, aged 29, serving with the 11th Airmobile Brigade (PARA) both died instantly in the crash.

Both men were based in Kabul.

TV cameraman, Abdul Qodus

Abdul Qodus, a cameraman for the private Aryana TV station, was killed in a double suicide bombing in the city of Kandahar. He had arrived at the scene of a suicide car bomb when a second attacker with explosives strapped to his body blew himself up, according to the Kabul-based Committee to Protect Afghan Journalists (CPAJ) and news reports. Qodus died of head injuries at a local hospital.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the two explosions, which also killed two Canadian soldiers and several civilians, according to international news reports.

Spanish soldier, Jorge Seminario, dies in bomb blast

Jorge Seminario

Spanish soldier Jorge Arnaldo Hernandez Seminario died after an explosion blasted the patrol vehicle he was in. Five other soldiers were seriously injured.

The incident took place near Farah in the west of the country on 8th July 2006.

The dead man had Peruvian nationality, the ministry said.

British patrol attacked, two soldiers dead

Two British military personnel killed in Afghanistan on 27 June 2006 have been named as Captain David Patton and Sergeant Paul Bartlett.

During an operation in the Sangin valley, northern Helmand province, in the early morning of 27 June 2006, a UK patrol came under attack. One further soldier was seriously wounded. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening. Next of kin have been informed.

Captain David Patton of the Parachute Regiment was born on 12 September 1967. Sergeant Paul Bartlett Royal Marines was born on 3 March 1971. 

 

Capt. David Patton

Sgt Paul Bartlett, RM

Italian Army Warrant Officer, Luca Polsinelli

WO Luca Polsinelli

Italian Army Warrant Officer, Luca Polsinelli, aged 28 was killed by a remotely detonated roadside bomb on 5th May 2006.

 

WO Polsinelli was part of a 12-man patrol riding in two armoured vehicles when the incident happened. Another Italian soldier was killed and four wounded by the blast.

WO Polsinelli served with the Italian 9th Alpine Regiment. He was from the city of Orbettelo and was unmarried.

Italian Army officer, Lieutenant Manuel Fiorito

Lt. Manuel Fiorito

Italian Army officer, Lieutenant Manuel Fiorito, aged 27 was killed by a remotely detonated roadside bomb on 5th May 2006.

Lt. Fiorito was part of a 12-man patrol riding in two armoured vehicles when the incident happened. Another Italian soldier was killed and four wounded by the blast.

Lt. Fiorito served with the Italian 2nd Alpine Regiment. He was from the city of Verona and was unmarried.

Italian officer, Lt. Col. Carlo Liguori

Lt. Col. Liguori

A Lieutenant Colonel of the Italian Army, Carlo Liguori, aged 41, died on 7th February 2006 in Herat, Afghanistan, from a suspected heart attack while standing in line for breakfast.

First aid was applied at the scene by surrounding soldiers but to no avail. Liguori was immediately evacuated to a Spanish Military Field hospital, where a doctor tried to revive him.

Lieutenant Colonel Liguori, originally from Gragnano, had resided in Sabaudia for years. He was married and the father of a boy of 12 years. In the military he was an advanced official in the antiaircraft artillery. His current position in service was with the General Staff of the Army.

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.

Sgt. Joao Paul Roma Pereira

1st Sgt. Joao Paul Roma Pereira, aged 33, was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, while on patrol in the Baghrami district of Kabul.

He died on 18th November 2005.

Sgt. Pereira was from Alhos Vedros, Portugal and he served with the Portuguese Army.

German officer, Lt. Col. Franz Armin

German Army Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Armin, age 44, was killed on 14th November 2005 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Lt.Col. Armin, serving with 901 Field Replacement Battalion, died from the blast of a suicide bomber.

Spanish army captain found dead

Herat, 24 October 2005: A Spanish officer was found unconscious in his tent by a companion whom had returned from a run. Medical aid was rendered for more than one hour trying to stabilize him but he later died.

Captain Jesus De La Pascua Belaustegui, 46 year old father of two children, was a member of the Aeromedical Evacuation team 11 of Alcala.

Italian Army Corporal, Michele Sanfilippo

Cpl. Sanfilippo

Italian Army Corporal, Michele Sanfilippo, aged 34, was found with serious head injuries in the Italian Camp at Kabul. He was immediately transferred to a German field hospital where he later died on 11th October 2005.

Cpl. Sanfilippo served with the 4th Regiment of Engineers, based in Palermo. He had been in Afghanistan since June.

He leaves a wife and two young children.

PSC, David John Addison

SECURITY CONTRACTOR
Name:	David John Addison
Age:	46
Nationality:	British
Employer:	US Protection & Investigation (USPI)
Location:	Bala Boluk, Afghanistan
Date:	5 September 2005
Cause:	Kidnapped by Taliban and executed