Polish soldier, Piotr Marciniak, killed in gun battle with Taliban

Pfc. Piotr Marciniak

Polish Private 1st Class, Piotr Marciniak, was killed 11th September 2009 in a fierce gun battle between coalition troops and Taliban militants.

He served with the Polish 6th Airborne Cavalry Brigade. His unit had been sent to support a joint US-Afghan force who were fighting the Taliban, in Ghazni province.

Pfc Marciniak, aged 30, was killed by gunfire.

Journalist Sultan Munadi killed

Afghan journalist, Sultan Munadi has been killed during an operation by British Commandos to rescue hum and British journalist, Stephen Farrell. Both men had been kidnapped and were being held hostage when the rescue mission happened.

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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.

Reporter, Sultan Munadi

Sultan Munadi

Early morning on 9th September 2009, journalist Sultan Munadi died in a predawn raid by British commandos trying to rescue him and Stephen Farrell, a correspondent for The Times, from Taliban captivity. 

The two men had been kidnapped in northern Afghanistan the previous Saturday while reporting on a NATO bombing that killed scores of people, possibly including many civilians.

Mr. Munadi was killed as he tried to lead Mr. Farrell to safety. 

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Dutch soldier killed by IED

Sgt-Major Mark Leijsen

Mark Leijsen

Sergeant-Major, 101 Engineer Battalion (101 Geniebataljon)

He was deployed with the approximately 1,770 troops from the Netherlands serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Sgt-Maj Leijsen, aged 44, was killed 7 September 2009 by an improvised explosive device near outpost Tabar in Uruzgan province. Three other soldiers and an Afghan translator were wounded when their vehicle struck the roadside bomb about 9 kilometres northwest of the main Dutch base, Camp Holland.

Dutch soldier killed in gunbattle

Kevin van de Rijdt

A Dutch soldier has been killed in a gunbattle in the southern Afghanistan province Uruzgan on Sunday, the defence ministry said.

Kevin van de Rijdt, a 26-year-old corporal, died on 6th September 2009 of gunshot wounds during a skirmish with fighters near Deh Rawood.

Van de Rijdt is the 20th Dutch soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since the Netherlands began its deployment in Uruzgan province in August 2006.

Two French soldiers killed by bomb attack

Sergeant Thomas Rousselle

Nicolas Sarkozy was Friday morning in Winnow in the Morbihan, for the homage ceremony of two French soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Thomas Rousselle, and Corporal Johann Naguin, both of them members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, Navy Marines were killed by a bomb during a patrol to the northeast of Kabul, September 4th, 2009.

The honor Legion was awared to them posthumously during this homage. The two soldiers were equally promoted to a superior rank.

Corporal Johann Naguin

Polish soldier, Marcin Poreba

Sgt Marcin Poręba

Sergeant Marcin Poręba was killed by a home-made IED that went off under an armoured troop carrier as a military convoy was travelling  about two kilometres from the Polish base of Giro on 4th September 2009. 

Five other soldiers were wounded during the explosion. They were immediately treated and taken to a Field Hospital.

Sgt. Marcin Poręba was posthumously awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Military Cross, the Star of Afghanistan and the Star of Iraq.

It was his second mission abroad. He served in 5 Engineering Regiment in Szczecin. He leaves a wife and a son.

Sgt. Poręba was buried in his home town of Szczecyn.

Two Estonian soldiers killed

Two Estonian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on 23rd August while carrying out their duties.

The soldiers were Sgt. Maj. Eerik Salmus (26) and Sgt. Raivis Kang (26), pioneers of the Estonian Estcoy-8 infantry company.

Eerik Salmus. Sgt-Major

Raivis Kang. Sergeant

 Click to read Estonian Embassy release

Belgium - list of military fatalities

This is the list of all Belgian military fatalities since 2001.

Date	Name	Age	Rank	Unit	Cause
13-Aug-09	Alexandre Carraro	31	CAM	Belgian Army	Non-hostile: illness, meningitis

Polish officer, Captain Daniel Ambroziński

Capt. Daniel Ambroziński

The body of Captain Daniel Ambroziński, declared missing in action (MIA) during a shootout 10th August 2009, was found the following day after an intensive all-night search by Polish and Afghani forces. 

Captain Ambroziński died of a gunshot wound during the operation code-named “Over the Top” in the Ajiristan district of Ghazni province. A joint Polish and Afghani foot patrol was attacked by a group of Taliban. During an intensive exchange of fire Captain Ambrozinski was killed and four others were injured. 

Aged 32, he served in the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT). At home he served in the 1st Air Cavalry Battalion in Leznica Wielka. 

He left a wife and a daughter.

Latvian Army Corporal, Dāvis Baltābols

Cpl. Dāvis Baltābols

Corporal Dāvis Baltābols, aged 30, was severely wounded during a battle with Taliban insurgents on 25th July 2009. He was evacuated by helicopter to a German Field Hospital in Afghanistan. He was then flown to a German Armed Forces Hospital in Koblenz, Germany.

He died there on 5th August 2009.

Corporal Baltābols had served with the Latvian Land Forces 1st Kajnieku Battalion. He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Viesturs.

French Marine killed by bomb

Anthony Bodin

Corporal Anthony Bodin, 22, from the French 3rd Marine Infantry, was killed 1st August 2009 north-east of Kabul in an ambush by Afghan rebels.

Australian soldier killed by IED

Australian Private Benjamin Ranaudo was killed by an anti-personnel explosive device in Afghanistan on 18 July, 2009.

Private Ranaudo was a member of the Townsville-based 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment. He was a member of the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan and was killed while on operations north of Tarin Kot.

Private Benjamin Ranaudo

He enlisted into the Australian Regular Army on the 19th of May 2006. After completing his Recruit Training he was allocated to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and commenced his Initial Employment Training at Singleton, New South Wales. 

At the completion of his Initial Employment Training in Nov 2006, Private Ranaudo was posted to the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. During his service with 1 RAR, Private Ranaudo deployed to East Timor as part of Operation Astute, and to Afghanistan as part of Operation Slipper. 

After returning from East Timor in October 2007, Private Ranaudo completed the 1 RAR Basic Reconnaissance course and was posted to Reconnaissance Platoon in May 2008. As part of lead up training for Afghanistan in late 2008, Private Ranaudo completed a Combat First Aider course and a Protected Mobility Vehicle Drivers course. He deployed as a Rifleman with 2 Platoon, Combat Team A for Operation Slipper. 

For his service in East Timor and Afghanistan, Private Ranaudo was awarded the Australian Active Service Medal with International Coalition Against Terrorism clasp, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Australian Service Medal with Timor-Leste clasp, Australian Defence Medal, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation - International Security Assistance Force Medal, the East Timor Solidarity Medal, the Infantry Combat Badge and the Return from Active Service Badge.

Turkish Army Sergeant, Mevlut Baydur

Mevlut Baydur

Turkish Army Sergeant, Mevlut Baydur, aged 39, was one of two Turkish military personnel killed 14th July 2009, in a road traffic accident.

The two men, part of the Turkish Army delegation in Afghanistan, were there to provide security during local elections in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Exact details of the accident are unclear, but it has been classed as "suspicious".