operationshoebox.co.uk uk troops in Afghanistan

KABUL — A bomb favoured by the Taliban has killed a foreign soldier in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Thursday, bringing the number of international troops killed in the country this year to 219.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the soldier, whose nationality was not revealed, "died following an improvised explosive device (IED) attack" on Wednesday.

IEDs, the Taliban's weapon of choice, are crude bombs that are detonated by remote control or by pressure-plate mines, which explode when the device is stepped on or driven over.

An AFP tally based on that kept by the icasualties.org website puts the number of foreign troops to die in the Afghan war so far in 2010 at 219, the overwhelming majority of them American.

On Wednesday, Britain's ministry of defence said one of its troops was shot dead in a firefight with Taliban-led insurgents in Helmand province, the sixth British soldier killed in Afghanistan this month.

Fighting in Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar is intensifying as NATO, US and Afghan troops build up operations against the Taliban, which consider the region their fiefdom.

The 130,000 foreign troops in the country are to be supplemented with another 20,000 in coming months, most of them deploying to Kandahar, military planners say.

FEB 2010

A deliberately well publicized campaign involving thousands of US, Britsh and Afghan troop’s code named ‘Operation Mushtarak’ is poised to begin in Afghanistan’s Helmand province with Marjah as the main geographic objective. Mushtarak, meaning ‘together’ in the Darri language signifies Afghan and Western troops operating jointly. The town of Marjah has been a Taliban stronghold for several years within their overall control of the province of Helmand bordering Pakistan.

JANUARY 2010

A British soldier and four US soldiers have been killed in separate roadside explosions – the first Nato casualties of 2010 in Afghanistan, following on from the bloodiest year since the invasion in 2001.

The unnamed soldier was from 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, the Ministry of Defence said. His name has not been released but next of kin have been informed.

The soldier had been on foot patrol in the Nad-e Ali area of Helmand province on Sunday. His death brings the total number of British service personnel killed since the 2001 invasion to 245. There were 108 killed in 2009.

Last month another Royal Anglican Regiment soldier, Lance Corporal Adam Drane, 23, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was shot dead in Helmand.

The US soldiers were killed in a separate blast from an improvised bomb in southern Afghanistan, Nato said. The exact location was not given. The Taliban has claimed it killed several foreign soldiers yesterday in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar.

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Rifleman Andrew Ian Fentiman from 7th Battalion The Rifles (7 RIFLES), attached to the 3 RIFLES Battle Group.

Rifleman Andrew Fentiman was killed as a result of small arms fire whilst on a foot patrol near Sangin in central Helmand province during the morning of 15 November 2009.

Rifleman Andrew Ian Fentiman

Rifleman Andrew Ian Fentiman was born in Cambridge on 29 July 1986. He joined 7 RIFLES as a Potential Officer in 2007 following two years at East Midlands University Officer Training Corps. Having volunteered to serve with the 3 RIFLES (3rd Battalion The RIFLES) Battle Group, he completed an assault pioneer course in May before being mobilised in June 2009.

Rifleman Fentiman attended the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre in Chilwell before joining A Company, 3 RIFLES, during pre-deployment training. He quickly proved his mettle, earning high praise from OPTAG (Operational Training and Advisory Group) training staff for his reactions during a demanding exercise in Norfolk.

In civilian life he read Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leicester before becoming a regional sales manager for Team Studio Ltd, a software firm based in Huntingdon. He intended to return to his civilian job after he had completed his tour of duty.

Rifleman Fentiman was killed by enemy fire during a foot patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan. The patrol was tasked with interdicting enemy activity and reassuring local nationals. He leaves his parents, Kevin and Lynda, a brother, Adam, and a sister, Elizabeth.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, Commanding Officer, 3 RIFLES Battle Group, said:

"Rifleman Andrew Fentiman was one of the welcome volunteers from our Territorial Army [TA] brethren, in this case 7 RIFLES, who have answered the call to come out to Afghanistan with us. It was an honour and a great act of commitment that he chose to accompany us and share the burden.

"A real ambassador for the great British public that supports us so well, he was up for the challenge and gave of himself selflessly. A university graduate, he was something of a novelty to his platoon. Bright and enthusiastic, he fitted in instantly. I have infinite respect for the commitment and sacrifice of this brave Rifleman who had so many opportunities ahead of him yet chose first to serve his country and his regiment. He was liked and respected by all and will be sorely missed as he now makes his way home to his family. Our thoughts are with them and all of his loved ones at this most difficult time."

October 2009

221 in eight years

A British soldier has been killed near the main UK military base in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

The serviceman, from 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died in an explosion near Camp Bastion in Helmand Province on Thursday morning.

His family have been informed, the MoD said.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "He was one of us, one of our own, and we will remember him."

The soldier's death takes the number of British troops who have died in the Afghan conflict since operations began eight years ago to 221.

WOOTTON BASSETT — Thousands of people paid their respects on Tuesday 15th JULY to eight soldiers killed in Britain's bloodiest 24-hour period in Afghanistan.

Crowds lined the streets as the coffins draped in Union flags were driven slowly through the small town of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, after the bodies were flown to a nearby airbase.

Friends and relatives of the dead tossed flowers on to the hearses and the sound of sobbing could be heard above a ripple of applause.

The families of the dead soldiers, three of whom were 18-year-olds, earlier attended a private ceremony at a chapel of rest after the coffins were unloaded one by one from a transport plane at the RAF Lyneham base.

The eight deaths, which lifted the number of British military fatalities in Afghanistan to 184 -- five more than in the Iraq campaign -- have prompted questions about British tactics and allegations that troops are under-equipped.

As the mounting human cost of eight years of fighting in Afghanistan was laid bare to the British public, the head of the army said the soldiers had not died in vain.

General Sir Richard Dannatt said the victims' families should take "great comfort" that they had died carrying out an essential mission ensuring that Afghanistan would not be a launch pad for terror attacks on Britain.

"It is really important not just for Afghanistan or for this region, it is really important for the overall security of the West and of the United Kingdom. We must get this right, we will get this right," he told BBC radio.

Five of the servicemen repatriated were members of the 2nd Battalion The Rifles who died in two roadside explosions near Sangin in Helmand province on Friday.

Corporal Jonathan Horne, 28, and Riflemen William Aldridge, James Backhouse and Joseph Murphy, all 18, were rescuing comrades from an earlier blast when they were killed in a second explosion.

Murphy was carrying Rifleman Daniel Simpson, 20 -- who was injured by the first makeshift bomb -- when both were killed in the subsequent blast.

Aldridge was attempting to reach casualties from the first blast, despite being wounded himself.

His aunt, Alison Aldridge, 40, who was in the crowd in Wootton Bassett, said: "It is extremely sad that his life was taken so swiftly, but I take comfort from the fact that he had two very fulfilling years rather than a lifetime of regrets."

In the wake of the deaths, the British government has faced strong criticism over claims that troops in Afghanistan were being put at risk by an acute shortage of equipment, especially helicopters.

But the spokesman for the British task force in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, told the BBC it was a "sad fact that helicopters would not have saved the lives" of the soldiers killed last week.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown fended off calls to send more troops, saying on Monday he had been reassured by commanders on the ground in Afghanistan that "we have the manpower we need for the current operation."

Merlin helicopters and Ridgeback armoured vehicles which can resist the Taliban's powerful roadside bombs are being sent to Afghanistan later this year.

And eight Chinook helicopters used in Iraq are being converted to cope with the harsh Afghan weather conditions.

Casualties have increased sharply since British and Afghan forces last month launched Operation Panther's Claw, which is aimed at removing the threat from Taliban insurgents in Helmand ahead of next month's Afghan elections.