French deaths in Afghan accident

[demoleft]

Source: bbc

Three French soldiers have died in an operation in north-eastern Afghanistan, the French presidency says.

It says the soldiers, serving with a parachute unit, "died accidentally" at night in Kapisa province.

France is among the top five contributors to Nato-led operations and has almost 3,000 troops deployed mainly in eastern Afghanistan.

Last month, 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush east of the Afghan capital Kabul.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8277098.stm

[mallard]

1. C'est trop domage ...

...n'est pa?

Nothing but tragedy and civil strife coming out of this boondoggle mission, which is still far more legitmate than the one in Iraq. Not such a successful diversion from domestic concerns in the long range, after all.

[maddezmom]

2. 6 foreign troops killed in Afghanistan

6 foreign troops killed in Afghanistan
By RAHIM FAIEZ (AP) – 13 minutes ago

KABUL — A suicide car bomb explosion targeting Afghanistan's energy minister killed four civilians Sunday, while attacks and a violent storm killed six international troops, including three French and two American forces, officials said.

Taliban assassination attempts against Afghan officials have intensified this year, with more than 100 officials and pro-government tribal elders attacked — half of them fatally.

The convoy carrying Energy Minister Ismail Khan, a powerbroker in the western region of Herat, was headed to the airport when a suicide car bomb exploded outside a high school, said Raouf Ahmadi, a police spokesman. Ahmadi said four civilians died and 17 people were wounded, including four of Khan's bodyguards.

He said Khan escaped unharmed and arrived safely at the airport.

more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD9AVJN2O0

[maddezmom]

4. British soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press
Sunday, September 27, 2009; 6:25 AM

LONDON -- Britain's defense ministry says a soldier has been killed while on patrol in southern Afghanistan.

The ministry said the soldier, from 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, died Sunday in an explosion. The soldier was on a vehicle patrol in the Musa Qal'eh, in restive Helmand Province.

The soldier's name was not released, but the family has been informed.

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/27/AR2009092700874.html?nav=ft_world

[tocqueville]

3. the BBC report is inaccurate, here are the facts :

1) the 3 soldiers were part of of a hunting commando and were caught in a violent thunderstorm. One was hit by lightning, the second drowned in a flash flood and the third drowned too trying to rescue him. Two are paratroopers, one is a marine. The French are using the successfull tactics from Algeria by the use of hunting commandos : don't wait for the enemy, seek him up, disrupt him.

2) the 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush a year ago, not last month.

the Lafayette Brigade's tactics have been very successfull in the Kapisa-Surobi district, the 70% participation in non fraudulent elections are a sign of it.


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PARIS – Three French soldiers were killed Sunday in a violent storm in northeastern Afghanistan when one was struck by lightning and two others were carried off by a flooding river, a French military spokesman said.

The three men had been advancing through a mountainous area about 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Kabul in "an operation designed to strike at a network of bomb-setters," French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.

The three were among 650 French soldiers patrolling Afghanistan's Kapisa region alongside Afghanistan's army, the Defense Ministry said.

Those killed were an adjutant and a brigadier from the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment based in Dieuze, northeastern France, and a private first-class from the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment based in the northwest city of Vannes, according to a statement from the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sarkozy's office said he sent condolences to the soldiers' families and reaffirmed France's commitment to "re-establishing peace and development in Afghanistan."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_afghanistan_2


RIP