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I am sad to report it was not a good day yesterday here in Camp Blackhorse. It matters not which country they are from, anytime 4 soldiers die it is a bad thing. I am impressed that here, the US soldiers most who know the casualties well, only stopped for a second to pull the American flag to half mast, before carrying on with the mission.
One of the casualties was well known to the Cdn team as he has been working with us since our arrival.
Memorial service here will be in the am 28 Mar at Camp Phoenix. There will be a Canadian presence from my team there.
For those who think Kabul and area is safe...think again.
Rest in peace, so others may live with peace.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/11244386.htm
Posted on Sun, Mar. 27, 2005
4 Indiana GIs killed by land mine
Taliban takes credit for blast south of Kabul, but military is skeptical
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan â “ A land mine exploded under a U.S. vehicle south of Kabul on Saturday, killing four Indiana soldiers.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said the four were members of the Indiana National Guard. They have not been identified.
Of the approximately 1,200 Indiana Army National Guard soldiers working to train the Afghan army, about 50 are from the Fort Wayne-based 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry. The soldiers, members of Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix III, were deployed in July with the 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry based in New Albany, the 113th Support Battalion based in Columbus and the headquarters of the 76th Brigade based in Indianapolis.
â Å“Four brave and irreplaceable citizens have lost their lives for all of us in the noblest of causes,â ? Daniels said in a written statement.
â Å“I ask the prayers of every Hoosier for their families as we grieve and await their return home.â ?
There were conflicting accounts late Saturday about whether the mine was freshly laid or left over from Afghanistan's long wars.
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the blast. But U.S. spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore said investigators suspected the mine was an old charge dislodged by recent rain and snow or that the vehicle had wandered into an unmapped minefield.
â Å“We believe it was an old mine which could have shifted,â ? Moore said.
The victims were among a group of American and Afghan officials scouting a potential site for a shooting range in Logar Province, 25 miles south of the Afghan capital, when one of their three vehicles hit the mine, Moore said.
The bodies of the four dead were airlifted to the main U.S. base at Bagram, Moore said.
About 17,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan battling a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency focused on the south and east and training the new Afghan army. The U.S. military says its air and ground operations have killed 12 eight suspected militants and four civilians in the past week alone.
According to U.S. Department of Defense statistics, 122 American soldiers have died since American forces invaded to oust the former Taliban government for harboring al-Qaida militants after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Many have been killed in accidents, including strikes on old mines left behind by Soviet troops who occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s or the Afghan factions including the Taliban who fought each other after the Soviets withdrew.
Moore said U.S. troops had first toured the scene of Saturday's incident about a week earlier in search of a site for a training range for the Afghan army.
Gov. Mohammed Aman Hamini said the explosion occurred in a desert area crisscrossed by rough tracks.
â Å“It's an old mine. There's no traffic on the route they took, but the Russians used to use it because they were afraid of the main road,â ? Hamini said.
However, Mullah Hakim Latifi, a man who claims to speak for the Taliban, said its fighters detonated the mine by remote control.
â Å“We've said again and again that we would resume our holy war in the spring,â ? Latifi told AP by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.
Also Saturday, Uruzgan Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said U.S. forces detained two suspected Taliban militants the day before as they tried to plant a remote-controlled mine on a road in the province.
The blast Saturday was the deadliest incident for the U.S. military since May 29, 2004, when four American special forces soldiers were killed in Zabul province, near the Pakistani border, reportedly by an intentionally laid mine.
Laura Johnston of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.
One of the casualties was well known to the Cdn team as he has been working with us since our arrival.
Memorial service here will be in the am 28 Mar at Camp Phoenix. There will be a Canadian presence from my team there.
For those who think Kabul and area is safe...think again.
Rest in peace, so others may live with peace.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/11244386.htm
Posted on Sun, Mar. 27, 2005
4 Indiana GIs killed by land mine
Taliban takes credit for blast south of Kabul, but military is skeptical
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan â “ A land mine exploded under a U.S. vehicle south of Kabul on Saturday, killing four Indiana soldiers.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said the four were members of the Indiana National Guard. They have not been identified.
Of the approximately 1,200 Indiana Army National Guard soldiers working to train the Afghan army, about 50 are from the Fort Wayne-based 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry. The soldiers, members of Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix III, were deployed in July with the 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry based in New Albany, the 113th Support Battalion based in Columbus and the headquarters of the 76th Brigade based in Indianapolis.
â Å“Four brave and irreplaceable citizens have lost their lives for all of us in the noblest of causes,â ? Daniels said in a written statement.
â Å“I ask the prayers of every Hoosier for their families as we grieve and await their return home.â ?
There were conflicting accounts late Saturday about whether the mine was freshly laid or left over from Afghanistan's long wars.
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the blast. But U.S. spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore said investigators suspected the mine was an old charge dislodged by recent rain and snow or that the vehicle had wandered into an unmapped minefield.
â Å“We believe it was an old mine which could have shifted,â ? Moore said.
The victims were among a group of American and Afghan officials scouting a potential site for a shooting range in Logar Province, 25 miles south of the Afghan capital, when one of their three vehicles hit the mine, Moore said.
The bodies of the four dead were airlifted to the main U.S. base at Bagram, Moore said.
About 17,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan battling a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency focused on the south and east and training the new Afghan army. The U.S. military says its air and ground operations have killed 12 eight suspected militants and four civilians in the past week alone.
According to U.S. Department of Defense statistics, 122 American soldiers have died since American forces invaded to oust the former Taliban government for harboring al-Qaida militants after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Many have been killed in accidents, including strikes on old mines left behind by Soviet troops who occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s or the Afghan factions including the Taliban who fought each other after the Soviets withdrew.
Moore said U.S. troops had first toured the scene of Saturday's incident about a week earlier in search of a site for a training range for the Afghan army.
Gov. Mohammed Aman Hamini said the explosion occurred in a desert area crisscrossed by rough tracks.
â Å“It's an old mine. There's no traffic on the route they took, but the Russians used to use it because they were afraid of the main road,â ? Hamini said.
However, Mullah Hakim Latifi, a man who claims to speak for the Taliban, said its fighters detonated the mine by remote control.
â Å“We've said again and again that we would resume our holy war in the spring,â ? Latifi told AP by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.
Also Saturday, Uruzgan Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said U.S. forces detained two suspected Taliban militants the day before as they tried to plant a remote-controlled mine on a road in the province.
The blast Saturday was the deadliest incident for the U.S. military since May 29, 2004, when four American special forces soldiers were killed in Zabul province, near the Pakistani border, reportedly by an intentionally laid mine.
Laura Johnston of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.
