Afghanistan - First Miltary Casualties in 2010

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | January 4, 2010 at 03:51 am

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2009 was one of the bloodiest years for NATO troops in Afghanistan. The US total casualty rate for Operation Enduring Freedom was 861. Canada, yesterday, repatriated 4 soldiers and one civilian journalist that brought Canada's total to 138.

Just days after Canada's loss in Khandahar City and the loss of 7 CIA operatives at a Forward Operation Base near Khost, Afghanistan, the first casualties of the new decade have been reported.

In Southern Afghanistan four U.S. soldiers, under Canadian command, were killed as a result of an Improvised Explosive Device. In Helmand Province one British soldier lost his life while on a foot patrol. Although CBC reports these troops under command of Canada, they are likely under operational control of Canadian Brigadier General Daniel Menard. They are part of a 2000 troop contingent under operational control of the Canadian commander.

They are integral to Menard's plans to subdue an active insurgency in Zhari and Arghandab districts just north of Kandahar city.

IEDs are the most common method of operation for the Taliban. While the surge is to provide more stability to Afghanistan, it is quite obvious that the onslaught of more NATO troops has invigorated the Taliban.

Of the 304 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan last year, 129 were due to IEDs, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

The four US troops were honoured in a ramp ceremony and have been dispatched to the United States. No names have been released subject to notification of next of kin.

Is this an example of what is to come in 2010? We can only hope that NATO gets a handle on this and is able to contain the Taliban.

The recent Christmas Day attempt to down a plane near the Detroit airport, along with terrorist training camps in Yemen, seems to demonstrate that Al Queada has also stepped up its attempts.

Does the U.S. Administration have to rethink its overall strategy with regard to Afghanistan and its fight against terrorism generally?

Four U.S. servicemen and one British soldier were killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

The four Americans were killed in a roadside bombing in the south, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement, but did not provide any more details.

The British soldier was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol Sunday in Helmand province, the British Ministry of Defence said.

The deaths come days after seven CIA employees were killed when a suicide bomber was able to get into a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan.

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marianmo

at 05:50 on January 4th, 2010

ty for the info acp

snuffysmith

at 07:09 on January 4th, 2010

Five Foreign Soldiers Killed In Afghan Blasts -- BBC

Four US soldiers and one UK serviceman have been killed in two separate bomb blasts in southern Afghanistan, officials say.

The American soldiers died after an improvised explosive device went off, a statement by Nato-led forces said.

The British soldier was killed in a separate blast in Helmand province, officials said.

The deaths on Sunday are the first attributed to hostile action in Afghanistan in 2010.

Read more ....

snuffysmith

at 07:10 on January 4th, 2010

More News on Afghanistan

Afghan attacks kill 4 US troops, British soldier -- Yahoo News/AP
Four US soldiers killed in Afghan bomb blast: NATO -- AFP
Five foreign troops killed in Afghan explosions -- Reuters
4 U.S. troops die in Afghan blast -- L.A. Times
Roadside bomb kills four US troops -- Press Association
4 U.S soldiers killed in Afghanistan -- CBC
Britain's first Afghanistan death of 2010 -- The Guardian
First British casualty in Afghanistan this year -- Times Online
British soldier killed in Helmand explosion -- BBC

Eighteen militants killed in Afghanistan -- AFP
Afghan forces kill 25 militants: official -- China View
British Al-Qaeda plot to murder family of sniper soldier -- Mirror.co.uk
France cautious over kidnapped journalists -- Yahoo News/AFP
Taliban: CIA Attack Was Retaliation for Drone Strikes -- Wall Street Journal
3 of 7 CIA employees killed in suicide bombing in Afghanistan are identified -- Star Telegram
British troops 'will be led by Afghans' -- The Independent
Afghans Answering the Call to Fight -- New York Times
Taliban must join security forces, says Brit general -- The Telegraph
Marines coaxing residents back to Helmand ghost town -- Washington Post

Karzai orders Afghan parliament to suspend break -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Many Karzai Afghan Cabinet Choices Are Rejected -- New York Times
Karzai’s Cabinet Fails to Get Backing of MPs in ‘Victory for Democracy’ -- Times Online
Afghanistan's Karzai sacks convicted Kabul mayor -- AFP
Afghanistan Parliament's Rejection of Karzai Cabinet Picks Signals Power Shift -- Washington Post

snuffysmith

at 07:11 on January 4th, 2010

Get ready for more casualties.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 07:11 on January 4th, 2010

Thanks again snuffy:)

t k kidwai

at 07:49 on January 4th, 2010

Obama wants how many more lives sacrificed at the altar of occupation to please gods of corporate greed?

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 07:55 on January 4th, 2010

Thanks for commenting t k kidwai. There will be a lot more and this isn't even their traditional fighting season.

snuffysmith

at 18:32 on January 5th, 2010

Remembering the First American Soldier To Die In Afghanistan An honor guard from the 1st Special Forces Group transports the flag-draped coffin of Sgt. 1st Class Nathan R. Chapman just before midnight Jan. 8 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. More than 60 Green Berets joined the Chapman family at the airport to pay their respects to the first U.S. soldier killed by hostile fire in Afghanistan. (Wikimedia)

First American To Die In Afghanistan, Nathan Chapman, Remembered Eight Years Later -- New York Daily News

The bad guys seem only stronger than ever, no doubt ready to plan around any new counterterrorism measures, surely with New York still the bull's-eye.

Monday was the eighth anniversary of the first American combat death in Afghanistan - and there's no end in sight.

Eight long years since Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Chapman became the first solider to die going after those responsible for 9/11.

Read more ....