USWarWatch.org - Peacemakers be vigilant, hope, take action!

COALITION DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN
ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER, 2006
A running log of text entries for the month of September, 2006

Friday, September 01, 2006 1:40 PM - The British MOD is announcing the death of a British soldier in northern Helmand Province on September 1st during an insurgent attack.

Saturday, September 02, 2006 6:19 AM - The British Ministry of Defense has released the name of the British soldier who was killed in northern Helmand Province on September 1st: Ranger Anare Draiva of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. [Note: The British use several titles among their various regiments for a basic private, among them "trooper", "fusilier", "ranger", etc. The rank is equivalent to a US E-1 or E-2 private.]

Saturday, September 02, 2006 11:31 AM - The British Minsitry of Defense is confirming that a plane that went down on September 2nd in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, was British ... and that 14 British military personnel lost their lives: 12 from the Royal Air Force, one Royal Marine, and one from the British Army. The cause is thought to be a mechanical problem at this time, not hostile action. More details are available from the Washington Post.

Sunday, September 03, 2006 10:43 AM - The news media are reporting that four NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in fighting today west of Kandahar City. The number of dead is confirmed by NATO. What is not confirmed by them is their nationality. Sources in the Afghan Defense Ministry are saying that the dead are all Canadians. But, again, NATO itself has not confirmed this.

Sunday, September 03, 2006 1:47 PM -
	(1) The British Ministry of Defense has released a list of the names and ranks of the 14 men who were aboard the Nimrod MR2 aircraft that crashed in Afghanistan on September 2nd. Information on ages, units, etc. has not yet been publicized.
	(2) The Canadian Press is reporting that Canadian military officials are confirming the deaths of four of their soldiers in recent fighting west of Kandahar City.

Sunday, September 03, 2006 3:44 PM - The Canadian National Defense Department has posted to their website confirmation of the death of 4 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan on September 3rd. Two of the dead have been named: Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan and Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish. The families of the other two have requested that the names be withheld for a while longer.

Monday, September 04, 2006 2:20 AM - The British Ministry of Defense has announced the death of one of their soldiers on September 4th in a suicide car bombing in Kabul. According to this report, a second British soldier was "very seriously injured".

Monday, September 04, 2006 3:20 AM - The Fiji Times has an article on the death of the British soldier Anare Draiva, 27, on September 1st in Afghanistan. They report that Ranger Draiva was from the town of Kubulau in Bua Province (Vanua Levu Island), Fiji.
Anare Draiva, 27, Fiji

Monday, September 04, 2006 6:43 AM - The Canadian Press is reporting the death of another Canadian in Afghanistan ... this time a soldier who died when NATO warplanes accidentally strafed their own troops on September 4th about 10 miles west of Kandahar City. More than 30 other soldiers were wounded in the incident, most not seriously according to military sources. Five were evacuated out of the country.

Monday, September 04, 2006 11:19 AM - The British MoD has released photos of 11 of the 14 who died in the plane crash on September 2. (Later): we have added the photo of a 12th Brit, Steven Swarbrick. We are still missing photos of Joseph David Windall, & Oliver Simon Dicketts.

Gary Wayne Andrews	Stephen Beattie	Gerard Martin Bell	Adrian Davies

Steven Johnson	Benjamin James Knight	John Joseph Langton	Leigh Mitchelmore

Gareth Rodney Nicholas	Gary Paul Quilliam	Allan James Squires	Steven Swarbrick

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 5:36 AM -
	(1) The Canadian Press has an article describing the emotional ceremony that took place as the bodies of the five Canadians killed in Afghanistan on September 3rd and 4th were put aboard a C-130 Hercules at Kandahar Airfield for the trip back home. In it, two more names were revealed: Sgt. Shane Stachnik was one of the four troops killed in combat Sunday; Private Mark Graham was the soldier who was killed by friendly fire on Monday. Incidentally, the article also reveals that it was two U.S. aircraft that strafed the Canadian troops by mistake on September 4th.
	(2) The Canadian National Defense Department website now has a statement up confirming the strafing incident on September 4th.
	(3) The same Defense website has also published a statement from the family of Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, 38.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 6:19 AM -
	(1) The Globe and Mail highlights the life of Canadian Private Mark Anthony Graham, 33, a former Olympic athlete, who died near Kandahar in a friendly fire incident on September 4th. He was originally from Jamaica, but grew up in Hamilton, Ontario.
	(2) The Toronto Star covers the story of Sergeant Shane Stachnik's romance with a young woman he did not live to marry, dying in combat near Kandahar on September 3rd. Shane was 30 and from Alberta.
		Mark Anthony Graham, 33, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada	Shane Stachnik, 30, Alberta, Canada

	Tuesday, September 05, 2006 8:53 AM - The British Ministry of Defense has identified the victim of the September 4th suicide car bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan: Private Craig O'Donnell, 24, of Clydebank in Dumbartonshire in Scotland.
Craig O'Donnell, 24, Clydebank, Dumbartonshire, Scotland

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 3:47 PM - The British Ministry of Defense has been fleshing out the biographies of the 14 men who died in the crash of the RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft in Afghanistan on September 2nd:
	• Marine Joseph "Joe" David Windall was 22 years old and a signalman in the Royal Marine Corps. According to an article in the Bucks Free Press, he was born and raised in Tyler's Green in Buckinghamshire just northwest of London. His unit was based in Poole in Dorset, England, although we have yet to learn what unit that was.
	• Flight Sergeant Gary Wayne Andrews was 48 years old and from Tankerton in Kent, England.
	• Flight Lieutenant Allan James Squires was from Clatterbridge in Merseyside, northwestern England. He was 39 years old.
	• Sergeant Benjamin "Tapper" Knight was one of the youngest members of the crew at 25. He was from Bridgwater in the southwest of England. His father paid moving tribute to his son in this Mirror article: "He has been flying with the birds, now he's flying with the angels."
	• Lance Corporal Oliver Simon Dickets was, according to an article in the Guardian, from Wadhurst in East Sussex, England. He was based out of Dover with the Parachute Regiment, the only member of the army aboard the aircraft.
	• All of the RAF men were from 120 Squadron out of RAF Kinloss in Moray, Scotland.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 7:15 PM - The British MOD has published more information on several of the men who died in the crash of the Nimrod MR2 aircraft in Afghanistan on September 2nd:
	• Flight Lieutenant Steven Johnson was 38 and from Collingham in Nottinghamshire in the northeast of England.
	• Flight Lieutenant Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore hailed from the southern coast of England ... Bournemouth in Dorset. He was 28 years old.
	• Flight Lieutenant Gareth Rodney Nicholas also came from southern England ... Redruth in Cornwall. He was 40.
	• Flight Lieutenant Steven Swarbrick was 28 and came from Liverpool, England.
	• Flight Sergeant Stephen Beattie, a Scotsman from Dundee in the Tayside Region, was 42 years of age.
	• Flight Sergeant Gerard Martin Bell was 48 and from Ely in Cambridgeshire, England.
	• Flight Sergeant Adrian Davies came from Amersham in Buckinghamshire near London. He was 49.
	• Sergeant John Joseph Langton was 29 years old. He hailed from Liverpool, England.
	• Sergeant Gary Quilliam was originally from Manchester, England ... and was 42 years old.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 7:46 PM
	(1) CBC News has published a piece on Canadian Warrant Officer Richard Nolan who died in combat in Afghanistan on September 3rd. He grew up in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland.
	(2) The Canadian National Defense Department has now identified the fourth Canadian soldier who died in combat on September 3rd: Private William Jonathan James Cushley.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:24 AM - The Associated Press and the BBC are reporting the death of a British soldier on September 6th in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, after his patrol "strayed into an unmarked minefield". The BBC article stated that 5 soldiers were "very seriously injured". We are calling this a "non-hostile" death based on the assumption that this was an old mine field from the Soviet days. If that proves wrong, we'll correct the database promptly.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 9:06 AM - The British MOD have posted on their website confirmation of the death of a British soldier from a mine on September 6th in Afghanistan.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 1:57 PM - The British Ministry of Defense has added two more British deaths to the tally for September 6th:
	(a) One soldier was killed when his unit made contact with enemy forces at about 0800 Afghanistan time.
	(b) One soldier who was wounded in the same attack that killed Ranger Anare Draiva on September 1st has now died from his injuries. The place of death was not given, although the report said that his family was with him when he passed away.

Thursday, September 07, 2006 12:17 PM -
	(1) The DoD has formally classified Air Force Major Jill M. Metzger as "DUSTWUN" ...Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown. She was stationed at Manas Air Force Base in Kyrgyzstan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom when she became separated from a group of servicepeople while shopping in nearby Bishkek. The Associated Press has more details on the case and the ensuing investigation.
	(2) Canada.com has published a piece on Sergeant Shane Stachnik, the Canadian who died in combat in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on September 3rd. It reports that the sergeant was originally from Waskatenau, Alberta. The Globe and Mail has a moving article on the official ceremony held at Trenton, Ontario, when the bodies of Canada's 5 recent deaths were brought home. They reveal that Warrant Officer Frank Mellish, although born in Truro, Nova Scotia, was raised on Prince Edward Island. In fact, a piece from CBC today on the warrant officer would seem to indicate that Kensington, P.E.I., is his 'hometown' ... and that his family plans to bury him near there. According to another article on the repatriation ceremony, this one from CanWest News Service, Private William Cushley was the youngest of the group at 21. He was raised in Port Lambton, Ontario.

Thursday, September 07, 2006 7:05 PM -
	(1) The British Ministry of Defense has identified the soldier who died on September 6th in Helmand Province when his unit strayed into an unmarked minefield: Corporal Mark William Wright, 27, of Edinburgh, Scotland.
	(2) The British MOD has also identified the soldier who was wounded on September 1st in the same attack that killed Ranger Anare Draiva at Musa Qala in Helmand Province, and who finally succumbed to his injuries on September 6th: Lance Corporal Paul Muirhead, 29, of Bearley in Warwickshire, England. UPDATE Saturday, December 16, 2006 - British Royal Marine Lance Corporal Paul Muirhead was severely injured in an insurgent attack on his base at Musa Qala in Helmand Province on September 1st, 2006. He lingered until September 6th before succumbing to his injuries. Recently we have come across articles from Sky News and also the Independent that indicate that he was flown to Oman for treatment after the attack. As his situation deteriorated, his parents were flown there to be with him in his final moments.
Paul Muirhead, 29, Bearley, Warwickshire, England

Friday, September 08, 2006 10:21 AM - Numerous reports are appearing in the news media about a huge car bombing in Kabul on September 8th that targetted a convoy of American troops near the U.S. embassy there, including this piece from CBC News. CENTCOM has confirmed that two U.S. soldiers were killed in the blast, which blew apart their Humvee. CENTCOM's headquarters in Afghanistan, CFC-Afghanistan, has also confirmed that two U.S. soldiers were injured. All total, at least 16 people died ... making this the deadliest suicide bombing in that country since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.

Saturday, September 09, 2006 5:39 AM -

Luke McCulloch, 21 (1) The British Ministry of Defense has identified the soldier who died in action in Sangin District in Helmand Province on September 6th: Lance Corporal Luke McCulloch, 21, who, although British, was originally born in Cape Town, South Africa.

Luke McCulloch, 21,
Capetown, South Africa

Jill Metzger, 33, Henderson, N.C.
(2) The Associated Press is reporting that Air Force officer Major Jill Metzger, 33, has been found alive in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and is apparently telling authorities that she was kidnapped. The major had been classified as "Duty Station Whereabouts Unknown" since she disappeared while shopping in Bishkek on September 5th. The newlywed Metzger is a former resident of Henderson, N.C., and was completing a four-month stint at the base with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing when she vanished. Her normal duty station is Moody Air Force Base in Georgia as a member of the 347th Mission Support Squadron. She had been scheduled to land back at her U.S. base Friday.

Jill Metzger, 33,
Henderson, N.C.

Sunday, September 10, 2006 4:57 AM -

(1) The news media have been reporting the death of a NATO soldier in the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province on September 9th for some 24 hours now. The death is likely Canadian, but so far, no official confirmation has been given. As such, we are temporarily adding this death to the database without a nationality descriptor.

(2) The Caller-Times is reporting the death of Sergeant 1st Class Merideth Howard, 52, in the Kabul suicide car bombing on September 8th. Sgt. Howard was an army reservist deployed as a civil affairs specialist. She was originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, but had since moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Sunday, September 10, 2006 7:13 PM - An article that appeared in the Evening Echo (and at other media sources) reports a second death in Afghanistan on September 9th: a coalition soldier who died in combat in Zabul Province. No word has yet surfaced as to the nationality, although this one is likely American. The article also clarified that the earlier death on September 9th in Kandahar Province was not of a NATO soldier as earlier reported, but was also a coalition death. No word yet on nationality in that case either.

Monday, September 11, 2006 4:53 AM -
	(1) The Salem Statesman Journal is reporting the death of an Oregon Army National Guardsman in Afghanistan on September 9th. Sergeant Nathaniel Brad Lindsey of Troutdale, Oregon, was the coalition soldier who was killed in Zabul Province when his unit came under attack with either IEDs or rocket propelled grenades and also small arms fire.
	(2) The Associated Press has an article out on Sergeant 1st Class Merideth Howard who was killed in Kabul by a suicide car bomber on September 8th. Apparently, although originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, she has been living for some years in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where she ran a business as a fire-safety consultant out of her home.

Monday, September 11, 2006 6:15 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Sergeant Nathaniel B. Lindsey, 38, of Troutdale, Oregon, on September 9th in Afghanistan of hostile fire. According to this item in the Oregonian, Sergeant Lindsey died when the Taliban set up a false police checkpoint on a road in Zabul Province, then opened fire on Lindsey's 6-vehicle patrol, first with either an IED or a rocket propelled grenade, then with a barrage of small arms fire.
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed one death and revealed the name of the other in the September 8th suicide car bombing in Kabul that killed two U.S. soldiers. Both were Army Reservists with the 405th Civil Affairs Battalion:
		Sergeant 1st Class Merideth L. Howard, 52 Staff Sergeant Robert J. Paul, 43, of The Dalles, Oregon
		Although the DoD release says that Sgt. Howard was from Alameda, California, the media is reporting that she lived there only for a time. She was originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, and had been living for some years in Waukesha, Wisconsin, at the time of her death.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006 5:04 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the death of a "coalition soldier" in Asadabad District in Kunar Province from a non-hostile vehicle accident on September 11th. As the forces in Kunar Province are nearly all American, we will consider this to be a U.S. death until we are told differently.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 12:35 PM -
	(1) TheKansasCityChannel.com is reporting the death of Army National Guardsman Staff Sergeant Mike Fuga of Independence, Missouri, in Afghanistan. The article said that his wife was informed of his death on Saturday, September 9th ... so he is likely the "coalition" death in Kandahar Province, the one for which we'd been unable to determine a nationality as yet.
	(2) A few more pieces of information have turned up on the 14 British military who died in the September 2nd plane crash in Afghanistan:
		(a) According to this piece in the Daily Mail (see last paragraph), the only soldier aboard the craft, Lance Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts, was 27 years old. A little more searching turned up a good article on Dicketts from This Is Kent, an article which confirmed that age.
		(b) The BBC has an article out on Flight Sergeant Gary Wayne Andrews, 48. The British MOD had described him as being from Tankerton in Kent, England. But apparently, he had lived for at least the past 20 years in the little town of Fochabers up in the Grampian Region in the north of Scotland, not far from the base he flew out of at Kinloss. In light of his many years there, we thought it would be appropriate to list that as his hometown.
		(c) An article has turned up on Wikipedia in their current event section on this particular plane crash. A line in it states the following: "The soldier and marine on board were serving with the newly formed Special Reconnaissance Regiment." Apparently this is a unit specializing in surveillance, which would certainly dovetail with Marine Joseph Windall's specialty in communications. It would appear to be part of UK Special Forces. What is not clear is whether or not it was a permanent or merely a temporary assignment for the two men.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 5:47 PM - The DoD has now confirmed the death of Sergeant 1st Class Michael T. Fuga, 47, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on September 9th from enemy small arms fire. They give his hometown as Nuuli in American Samoa, although the media article cited earlier today called him a resident of Independence, Missouri.

	Thursday, September 14, 2006 1:41 PM - The DoD has identified the soldier who died on September 11th in a single vehicle accident in Kunar Province: Army Sergeant Jeremy E. DePottey, 26, of Ironwood, Michigan.
Jeremy E. DePottey, 26, Ironwood, Michigan

Friday, September 15, 2006 1:21 PM - The Canadian Press has a nicely done article out describing the funeral of Canadian soldier Warrant Officer Richard Nolan who was killed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on September 3rd along with 3 other Canadians. He was 39 years old.

Saturday, September 16, 2006 7:47 AM - CFC-Afghanistan, CENTCOM's headquarters in that country, has just published the following release (this link does not work for many, so we will reprint the release here):
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 16, 2006 Release # 060916-04 One Coalition Soldier killed during attacks in Khowst
	KABUL, Afghanistan – One Coalition Soldier was killed and one Coalition Soldier was wounded during two separate attacks Sept. 15 on a Fire Base in Khowst near the Pakistan border. Also wounded in the attacks were Afghan National Army soldiers.
	“The death of our Soldier is a tragic loss for Task Force Phoenix,” said Brig. Gen. Douglas A. Pritt, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Phoenix. “As a trainer embedded with the Afghan National Army, this outstanding Soldier was sharing his knowledge and experience to assist Afghan soldiers in improving their combat skills. We also and sincerely hope for a speedy recovery of our wounded warrior. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families during this difficult time.”
Because the majority of troops in Khowst province are American, we are assuming this death to be American.

Sunday, September 17, 2006 9:23 AM - We cannot access this article from the Topeka Capital Journal as it is subscription only. But the first line on Google reads, "Kansas guardsman killed in Afghanistan. Lisa Deghand, of Mayetta, confirmed Saturday night that her husband, Bernard L. "Bernie" Deghand, had been killed Friday. She declined ..." A further check on Google shows nothing further on his death at this point. However, he was apparently quoted in a piece for Voice of America in May of this year. At that time he was stationed in Paktika Province, which is directly adjacent to Khowst Province, the site of last Friday's (September 15th) death. Most importantly, his job was to train Afghan troops ... the position held by the soldier who died on Friday.

Bernard L. "Bernie" Deghand,
Mayetta, Kansas
(Photo from The Talon, August, 2003)

Monday, September 18, 2006 4:29 AM -
	(1) According to this CBC News article, four NATO soldiers, likely Canadians although that has not been confirmed, were killed on September 18th in the Panjwai District to the west of Kandahar. Apparently, a bomb attached to a bicycle went off as soldiers were handing out candy and notebooks to children in a non-combat setting. The article states that a "substantial" number of NATO soldiers were wounded ... and that NATO is unsure at this point what the number of civilian casualties are.
	(2) Station WIBA now has an accessible article out on Sergeant 1st Class Bernard Deghand who was killed in Afghanistan on September 15th. He was 42 years old and died in a small arms fire attack.

Monday, September 18, 2006 7:11 AM - The Canadian Ministry of Defense is now confirming the deaths of four of their soldiers about 30 km west of Kandahar City on September 18th. They were killed by a suicide bicycle bomber who targetted one of their foot patrols. The report indicates that there were "a number of others injured", including an unknown number of civilians.

Monday, September 18, 2006 3:15 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Army Sergeant 1st Class Bernard L. Deghand, 42, of Mayetta, Kansas, in Afghanistan on September 15th. This release cites "Spira" as the place of death, which we believe is a reference to "Spira District" in Khowst Province immediately adjacent to South Waziristan in Pakistan. There is a reference to "Spira district" in this July 2006 news item from Ariana Afghan Television.

Monday, September 18, 2006 5:26 PM - The Canadian National Defense Department has identified one of the soldiers killed on September 18th in Kandahar, Province: Private David Byers. [Their release also contains this bit of information: "Plans are being made to medevac ten Canadian soldiers who were injured in today's suicide attack to Landstuhl, Germany, for further medical treatment. Pending medical assessments, several other soldiers may also be sent to Germany."] An article in the Toronto Star gives Private Byer's hometown as Espanola, Ontario.

	Tuesday, September 19, 2006 9:44 AM - CanWest News Service has revealed the name of a second Canadian soldier killed by a suicide bicycle bomber near Kandahar on September 18th: Corporal Glen Arnold of the 2nd Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, out of CFB Petawawa in Ontario. No age or hometown have appeared in the media as of this time.
Glen Arnold Petawawa, Ontario, Canada

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 1:21 PM - The Canadian National Defense Department has now released all of the names of the four Canadian soldiers who died on September 18th when a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up next to their patrol in Kandahar Province:
	Corporal Glen Arnold Corporal Shane Keating Corporal Keith Morley Private David Byers

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:56 AM - Snippets of information are now starting to appear in the Canadian news media about the four Canadian soldiers killed in a suicide bike bombing on September 18th in Kandahar Province. This article from CanWest News Service states that the 3 soldiers based at Shilo were all single. Corporal Shane Keating was 30 years old and from a small community near Saskatoon called Dalmeny.

Thursday, September 21, 2006 5:19 AM -
	(1) The Italian Ministry of Defense has a statement up on their website this morning regarding the death of one of their soldiers in Afghanistan: Caporal Maggiore Giuseppe Orlando, 28, of Palermo, Italy. Apparently, an Italian patrol was engaged in normal activities on September 20th about 13 km south of Kabul in the Chahar Asyab District when the shoulder of the road gave way on a curve causing their armored "Puma" vehicle to roll over. The dead man was the machine gunner on the vehicle. Two other Italian soldiers were injured, but not seriously. Three other soldiers in the vehicle were seemingly not injured, but were held for observation regardless. All are assigned to the 22nd Company of the 2nd Alpine Regiment based in Cuneo, Italy. The Italian MOD are saying that the crash was strictly an accident with no terrorist involvement.
	(2) The wife of Canadian Army Corporal Glen Arnold has issued a statement published on the Canadian Defense Department website asking for privacy in the days ahead. She did state, however, that the corporal, who died in a suicide bombing in Kandahar Province on September 18th was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and raised in McKerrow, Ontario.

Thursday, September 21, 2006 9:01 AM - Canadian news media have published new information about three of the four Canadians killed in the suicide bombing in Kandahar Province on September 18th:
	(1) Keith Morley was 30, and his hometown was Winnipeg, Manitoba.
	(2) Glen Arnold was 32.
	(3) David Byers was 22.

Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:08 AM - The Italian Ministry of Defense has published photos of the two Italians killed on September 20: Giuseppe Orlando, 28, of Palermo, Italy, who died in Afghanistan; and Massimo Vitaliano, 25, from Galatone in Lecce Province, Italy, who died in Iraq. (In a sadly ironic note today, only a day after the two deaths, it is being reported that Italian minister of defence, Arturo Parisi, made good on Italy's 2005 promise to leave Iraq, officially beginning the process of military withdrawal. See Bloomberg.com article below.)

Giuseppe Orlando, 28, of Palermo, Italy, who died September 20 in Afghanistan

Massimo Vitaliano, 25, from Galatone in Lecce Province, Italy, who died September 20 in Iraq

Italy Ends Military Role in Iraq, Says `Mission Accomplished'

By Steve Scherer (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aE1zrCIp1SHg&refer=europe)

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Italy today handed military control of the southern province of Dhi Qar to Iraqi police and military forces during a ceremony in Nassiryah, continuing a withdrawal promised by Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

``We've met our objective, and the mission is accomplished,'' Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi said today in a televised speech made during the ceremony. ``We're pulling out our military contingent, but it doesn't mean we're turning our backs on Iraq.''

Parisi said Italy's civilian mission would continue. Italy lost 39 military police and soldiers during its three-year mission, including Corporal Massimo Vitaliano, 25, killed today in a road accident. Yesterday, Corporal Giuseppe Orlando, 28, was killed in Afghanistan when his armored vehicle flipped in a curve during a regular patrol, the defense ministry said.

In keeping with a pledge made during this year's election campaign, Prodi announced Italy's military withdrawal from Iraq during his first speech after taking office in June, calling the 2003 war that toppled Saddam Hussein a ``grave mistake'' that has increased the risk of Middle East violence. The pullout is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's closest allies in Europe, sent more than 3,000 soldiers and military police to Iraq after the fall of Baghdad to help provide security in and around the city of Nassiriyah. Before the April 9-10 elections, Berlusconi had also pledged to complete a withdrawal by the end of this year.

Italy still has about 1,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, and is dispatching 2,500 troops to take part in the United Nations peacekeeping force to police the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Scherer in Rome at sscherer@bloomberg.net

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 5:41 AM - The Italian Ministry of Defense is reporting the death of one of their soldiers in an IED attack south of Kabul on September 26th: Caporal Maggiore Capo Giorgio Langella, 31, of Imperia, Italy. ANSA, which posts Italian news in English, has an article on the incident which states that five other Italian soldiers were injured in the attack, two of them seriously. An Afghan child was also killed.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:36 AM - La Repubblica published an article on Giorgio Langella, the Italian soldier who died in a roadside bombing south of Kabul on September 26th. He was from the town of Diano Marina in Imperia Province, and married for barely one year.

Giorgio Langella, 31, Imperia, Italy

Friday, September 29, 2006 5:58 AM - The Canadian Press is reporting the death of a NATO soldier in Kanadahar Province from an explosion" on September 29th. The nationality of the soldier has not been revealed yet, although the bulk of NATO troops in Kandahar Province are Canadian.

Friday, September 29, 2006 10:49 AM - The Canadian National Defense Department is now confirming that the NATO soldier killed on September 29th in Kandahar Province was a Canadian. The soldier was on a foot patrol in the Panjwai District about 25 km west of Kandahar City when an improvised explosive device detonated.

Saturday, September 30, 2006 10:29 AM -
	(1) The Italian Ministry of Defense is announcing the death of another one of their soldiers in Afghanistan: Caporal Maggiore Vincenzo Cardella, 23, of Santa Maria Capua Vetere in the southern Italian province of Caserta. According to the release, Cardella died on September 30th in the intensive care unit at the Policlinico Militare Celio in Rome of the serious wounds he received on September 26th in the same IED attack south of Kabul that killed his fellow soldier Caporal Maggiore Capo Scelto Giorgio Langella. The report goes on to say that Cardella was initially stabilized at a French field hospital near Kabul and was then flown back to Italy aboard a German aircraft on September 27th. He was born on 11 November 1982 and was assigned to the 22nd Company of the 2nd Alpine Regiment out of Cuneo, Italy. (2) According to a brief article entitled "27 SETTEMBRE 2006 - ESEQUIE DEL CAPORAL MAGGIORE CAPO SCELTO GIORGIO LANGELLA" on the Italian Army website, Italian soldier Giorgio Langella, who died on September 26th near Kabul, has been posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant 1st Class.
Vincenzo Cardella, 23, Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy

Saturday, September 30, 2006 12:25 PM - The Canadian Press is reporting the name of the Canadian soldier who died on September 29th in Kandahar Province when he stepped on "an insurgent's explosive booby trap" while on foot patrol: Private Josh Klukie.

Sunday, October 01, 2006 10:07 AM - From this article on the Globe and Mail website, the Canadian soldier Private Josh Klukie would appear to be from Thunder Bay, Ontario. He died on September 29th in Kandahar Province.

Sunday, October 01, 2006 6:38 PM - An article put together by the Canadian Press gives a rivetting account of Canadian Private Josh Klukie's last moments as he stepped on a mine that insurgents had set with a hair trigger so that even a light footstep would detonate it. "Klukie was thrown several meters, with pieces of his equipment flying in all directions ... 'He was breathing, his eyes were moving, he recognized me as soon as I got there,' Blois said. 'He looked right at me but he couldn't talk' ... After a few minutes, Klukie stopped breathing and his heart stopped." He was 23 years old.

Josh Klukie,
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada