# 3 German Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan



## FuzzyLogic (19 May 2007)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a2heF4CwY3k4&refer=europe

Commentary:

http://cjunk.blogspot.com/2007/05/eu-prima-donnas-take-hit.html


----------



## geo (19 May 2007)

Never let your guard down!

My condolences to friends & family

At the going down of the sun
and in the morn
We will remember them!

CHIMO!


----------



## Teddy Ruxpin (19 May 2007)

A more coherent report from Reuters, which reports three killed, not 11:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSCH94519720070519



> MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three German soldiers and six civilians in a crowded street market in northern Afghanistan on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Taliban.
> 
> It was the deadliest assault on German troops in nearly four years and Berlin's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called it a "brutal terrorist attack". The soldiers had got out of their vehicle *to shop* when the bomb went off.



More at link


----------



## FuzzyLogic (19 May 2007)

Hmmm, still confusion on this: Forbes has it at 11, while International Tribune has it at 3 as of 2 hours ago.

We should know the exact amount shortly I'd imagine.


----------



## KevinB (19 May 2007)

Well colour me surprised -- got out to shop  :

 I feel bad for the dead and the relatives -- but remain woefully underwhelmed by Germany in this whole war on terror.


----------



## ironduke57 (19 May 2007)

Here on TV they said 3 dead and 2 wounded. And that this 11 dead information came from the Taliban.

Regards,
ironduke57


----------



## Scoobie Newbie (19 May 2007)

I wonder if the Taliban are deciding on softer military targets ie Dutch, Germans as they are having trouble with the Americans, Brits, and us.

Well wishful thinking anyway.


----------



## tomahawk6 (19 May 2007)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070519/wl_nm/afghan_blast_dc

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three German soldiers and six civilians in a crowded street market in northern 
Afghanistan on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

troops in nearly four years and Berlin's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called it a "brutal terrorist attack." The soldiers had got out of their vehicle to shop when the bomb went off.

To the south, militants in Kapisa province engaged Afghan and foreign forces overnight in a battle in which several dozen Taliban fighters were believed to have been killed, the U.S.-led coalition said.

Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent weeks following a winter lull. The Taliban has said it has trained hundreds of suicide bombers.

In Shinwar district near Jalalabad, a remote-controlled bomb killed a police chief and another officer, and wounded three others on Saturday, a local official said.

The spate of attacks this week followed the death of the insurgents' top operational commander, Mullah Dadullah, in a U.S.-led coalition raid last weekend. It was deemed the biggest blow to the Taliban since they were driven from power in 2001.

UNPOPULAR DEPLOYMENT

The suicide bomber struck in the northern city of Kunduz when the German soldiers got out of their patrol vehicle to shop at a market where pots, green tea and other goods were sold.

"Suddenly we heard a big sound. We were frightened," said Aziz, a shopkeeper. "We saw very thick smoke and people rushing to escape."

In addition to the nine killed in the blast, at least 14 people were wounded, according to local security officials.

Three German soldiers were wounded, two of them seriously, German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said.

A Taliban commander claimed responsibility for the bombing and said the death toll was higher.

"Our Taliban mujahid (holy warrior) blew himself up near the German troops and killed more than 10 German soldiers," Mullah Hayatullah Khan said. "It was a very successful suicide attack on foreign troops and dozens of German soldiers were injured."

About 3,200 German troops are deployed in Afghanistan, providing security in northern areas that have been relatively safe until recently. The worst violence has been concentrated in southern parts of the country.

In June 2003, four German soldiers were killed and 29 injured when their bus was attacked.

Merkel said German soldiers were making an important contribution to stabilization effort.

"The perpetrators aim to destroy the success of the reconstruction process so far," said Merkel in a statement.

"The international community is firmly committed to helping the people of Afghanistan build a good future for their country." 

Many Germans oppose the Afghanistan deployment as their nation struggles to define its international role more than 60 years after the end of World War Two. 

In Kapisa province, northeast of Kabul, militants ambushed and tried to trap Afghan and coalition forces before midnight on Friday in the al-Asay valley, a coalition spokesman said. 

"Coalition air strikes were called in. Several dozen enemy fighters were believed to have been killed," Major Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman, said. 

A Taliban spokesman said on Saturday a "spy" who betrayed Dadullah to U.S. forces had been captured. "The spy told us, 'I am a U.S. spy and provided information about the Taliban,"' Mullah Shohabudin Atal told Reuters by satellite telephone.


----------



## geo (19 May 2007)

> The suicide bomber struck in the northern city of Kunduz when the German soldiers got out of their patrol vehicle to shop at a market where pots, green tea and other goods were sold.



Things were quiet a little bit too long in the north
Time to get their guard up again - never let your guard down!


----------



## tomahawk6 (19 May 2007)

I wonder if Iran has a part to play in this incident ?


----------



## Cdn Blackshirt (19 May 2007)

....but I thought the Germans were being non-confrontational with the Taliban and in return the Taliban (as rational objective civilized men) would be non-confrontational with them?

Wasn't that the basis of German policy and also what the Germans said last week in admonishing American aggressiveness?

In all honesty, my condolences go out to the troops, but hopefully this will be a wake-up call that you cannot reason with evil.


Matthew.


----------



## Eggy (19 May 2007)

R.I.P.

Speedy recovery to the wounded.



			
				Lone Wolf Quagmire said:
			
		

> I wonder if the Taliban are deciding on softer military targets ie Dutch, Germans as they are having trouble with the Americans, Brits, and us.
> 
> Well wishful thinking anyway.


Wow really nice of you. :

Dutch troops have been the target of suicide bombings a few times already. And what the hell do you mean with softer targets?


----------



## Mike Baker (19 May 2007)

RIP


----------



## Kirkhill (19 May 2007)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> I wonder if Iran has a part to play in this incident ?



Perhaps it has something to do with this:



> From The TimesMay 19, 2007
> 
> Afghan soldiers mass on border, ready and willing to take on old foe
> 
> ...



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1811094.ece

Which in turn maybe related to:
France negotiating the release of its hostage (and its hostage alone) by promising to withdraw
And German indicating it thought we were too tough on the Taliban
An Offer of 10,000 fighters loyal to a Northern Warlord in the defence ministry to go clean out the Taliban in Pakistani tribal areas
Afghans and Pakistanis clashing over the Durand Line fence the Pakistanis are building
Canadians moving M777s to Spin Boldak on the Border
Musharraf losing control
Urdu speaking Pakistanis from India and Musharraf supporters clashing with Punjabi speaking muslims and supporters of the Chief Justice all clashing with ISI and the Pashtuns and the Tribes fighting for advantage and Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif angling to come back out of exile and the Sikhs still looking for a homeland and Kashmir-Jammu still in dispute and the Baluchis looking to break away from both Tehran and Islamabad and the Marsh Arabs  of Iran and Iraq looking to reestablish local ties and fighting amongst themselves and blowing up Tehran facilities and Tehran students and labour and women demonstrating against Khamenei and Ahmadinejad and Kurds fighting in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey to establish a state of their own and Shiites and Sunnis in Al Anbar and Diyalla forming their own US sponsored "official" militias to take on Al Qaeda in Iraq and thugs in general and Hezbollah in Lebanon siding with the Baathists in Syria and the Christians in Lebanon siding with the Sunnis and the Israeli government siding with Fatah in Gaza against Hamas which in turn gets support from some of the more fundamentalist Jewish sects and Canadian left wing Christian church groups and radical socialist groups with ties to Moscow and Peking.............

Awfukit. :

Regardless, my condolences to the troops and their kin and to the civilians caught in the middle.


----------



## KevinB (20 May 2007)

Well in all honeslty the postion of Maz does beg for Iranian intervention --- I know a few IRG's and equipment have been seized in Maz and Herat.

Of course it might be an ISI message to General D too...


----------



## HItorMiss (20 May 2007)

Eggy said:
			
		

> Wow really nice of you. :
> 
> Dutch troops have been the target of suicide bombings a few times already. And what the hell do you mean with softer targets?



It's simple Dutch ROE's make them easier to get close to because they are much more restrictive, thus a softer target easier to blow up. Not the Dutch troops fault they just follow orders.


----------



## larry Strong (20 May 2007)

I feel bad for the dead and wounded.....however as previously stated, maybe eye's will start to open, but I doubt it. IMHO the west (sic) in these generations no longer have the stomach or the will to fight for our beliefs, as we did in days of old.


----------



## KevinB (20 May 2007)

HoM has the big point on the Dutch.








However all that said -- there are times where you cannot control the enemy approaching you.  Its war you cannot remove risk, you minimize it where you can -- you accept certain risks putting on the uniform.


----------



## HItorMiss (20 May 2007)

Yup no risk is ever 0%


----------



## Eggy (20 May 2007)

Ok I thought you meant something different.


			
				Infidel-6 said:
			
		

> HoM has the big point on the Dutch.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A sign like that is useless in Afghanistan though, the vast majority of the people there can't read. But I get the sentiment.


----------



## Good2Golf (20 May 2007)

Thoughts and prayers to the families and fellow soldiers of those killed.  RIP soldiers...



Now, back to TTPs and IAs...if you don't follow sound TTPs and IAs, this is what happens.  It's the same for these three soldiers as it was for the GER LTC back in January '06....follow your TTPs/IAs...or depart from them at your own peril.

G2G


----------



## Scoobie Newbie (20 May 2007)

They may not read but they do know to keep away.


----------



## KevinB (20 May 2007)

G2G -- excellent point.

I usually don't post this on open board (something about cats and dogs living together)  
The German in Nov 05 (I think my date is right  )
  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			










The less disturbing pics I have from that incident.   A second VBIED went off 200m from it 20 min later...




The moment you lose focus for a second - can be the last second of your life.

I was going to go on a rant about shopping -- but I recall doing a CP trip for one of G2G's "borders" to a market in Bagram -- so less I show my own ass (once again)  I will refrain from said shopping rant.


----------



## Scoobie Newbie (20 May 2007)

We had our terps buy things we wanted.  They went around unescorted and such but not to far from the camp.


----------



## Good2Golf (20 May 2007)

Yup, I-6, you were right about the date...I thought it was a bit later than Nov...you must be developing a sense of good (better?) taste in your posts...I remember your entire "portfolio"  :-X

...the femur's connected to tha....knee bone....the knee bone's connected to the....DOH!  

Must stop theatre dark humour!  Must think of something cheerful and positive, like "TGITAT" (Thank God it's Team America Thursday!)....

G2G


----------



## HItorMiss (20 May 2007)

Worst time on tour was driving in anything...GWagon or LAV I hated it....course I hated driving the GWagon more. I was never more tense then that, not even under contact.


----------



## exspy (21 May 2007)

Kirkhill,

I am quickly becoming a fan.  You have provided yet another brilliant analysis (which simply means that I agree with you).  While most observers want to look at the situation in SW Asia and the Middle East as a high stakes game of poker it is, in reality, an unsupervised round of 52 pick-up.  Poker has rules, strategies and a definable winner.  The other is unorganized, sophomoric and ambiguous.  This is why, in my opinion, western political solutions based on sound foreign relation principles and rationally thought out compromises do not necessarily succeed.  The proponents are playing the wrong game.  Think tribalism and not nationalism.  At the end of the round it's not the best hand who wins but the one with the most cards who 'believes' they won.

PS:  Kirkhill, did you at one time work for one of our Cousin's?


----------



## Kirkhill (21 May 2007)

exspy said:
			
		

> Kirkhill,
> 
> PS:  Kirkhill, did you at one time work for one of our Cousin's?



Why?  Who wants to know?  ;D

No such luck.  Though I am available for a consideration.


----------

