• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

NATO soldiers injured by landmine

Nfld Sapper

Army.ca Fixture
Subscriber
Mentor
Reaction score
127
Points
830
NATO soldiers injured by landmine

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 | 7:29 AM ET
CBC News
Two NATO soldiers were injured Tuesday after an anti-personnel landmine detonated in southern Afghanistan.

The soldiers, whose nationalities haven't been released, were on foot patrol in the Panjwaii district west of Kandahar City.

They were transported to hospital at Kandahar airfield where both were in stable condition.

More than 2,000 Canadian soldiers are stationed in the Kandahar region of southern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led mission.

Forty-two Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since the mission started in 2002.

UPDATE FROM CTV.CA

Two Canadians hurt in Afghanistan landmine blast
Updated Tue. Nov. 21 2006 11:46 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Two Canadian soldiers were injured during foot patrol on Tuesday when an anti-personnel landmine detonated in southern Afghanistan.

The two soldiers, who are from the Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont., were in the Panjwaii district west of Kandahar city when the landmine exploded.

They have been transported to hospital at Kandahar Airfield.

A military spokesman told The Canadian Press that one of the soldiers underwent emergency surgery for "severe lower body injuries."

He was being transferred to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

More to come...


 
Now stating that the injured are Canadian...hope they have a speedy recovery.  :salute:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061121/landmine_cdns_061121/20061121?hub=TopStories
 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=a48e139d-22b5-4b5c-b091-6a920d8a88aa&k=69389
OTTAWA - Two Canadian soldiers were injured in Afghanistan today when a mine was detonated during a foot patrol in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar.

Although the specific injuries to both soldiers have not been confirmed, reports said one soldier lost his foot after stepping on a mine and another suffered from head wounds.

Both were airlifted from the area, according to reports, and transported to an International Security Assistance Force hospital in stable condition.

The mine could be new or old.

The area has experienced significant rainfall in the last few days, which could have brought the mine to the surface after being dug weeks or months ago.

The incident occurred about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar City, in the area where Canadians soldiers have been building a road, dubbed “ambush alley” because of a series of deadly attacks against Canadian soldiers here.

The road is a key security feature that military leaders say will improve safety and prosperity in two traditional Taliban-controlled districts.

However, those hopes are quickly evaporating as daily battles between Canadian and Taliban troops have displaced entire villages, closed schools and medical clinics, and severely restricted development work.
Since Operation Medusa, the successful Canadian-led offensive in September that left an estimated 1,000 insurgents dead, scores of Taliban fighters have slowly reinfiltrated the Panjwaii-Zhari area.
 
Get well troops.  Just because the MSM hasn't reported on you since 11 November doesn't mean that we've stopped thinking about you.  God Speed!

:salute:
 
A hope for a speedy recovery - and prayers for thier families.

Muffin
 
Just to add another update from CTV.CA

Two Canadians hurt in Afghanistan landmine blast
Updated Tue. Nov. 21 2006 12:15 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Two Canadian soldiers were injured during foot patrol on Tuesday when an anti-personnel landmine detonated in southern Afghanistan.

"Two Canadian soldiers were injured after one of them stepped on what's believed to be an anti-personnel mine. This happened

about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar City in an area where Canadian soldiers are building a road," CTV's Steve Chao reported from Kandahar.

The two soldiers, who are from the Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont., were in the Panjwaii district west of Kandahar city when the landmine exploded.

It's unclear whether the landmine was a new one planted by the Taliban or an old one that surfaced after days of rain.

"It's very clear that Afghanistan is perhaps the most heavily mined country in the world. This is an area that has seen conflict through the centuries so there is a great deal of old explosives lying around here," Chao told Newsnet.

"Even as the Canadians were building this road in the Panjwaii area, they came across

several caches of weapons, some very old Soviet weapons, some even older Chinese weapons, other ones are coming in from Pakistan as well," he said.

The two wounded soldiers have been transported to hospital at Kandahar Airfield.

A military spokesman told The Canadian Press that one of the soldiers underwent emergency surgery for "severe lower body injuries."

He was being transferred to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

He will undergo treatment at the military hospital before he returns home to Canada.

The military spokesman told CP that the other soldier was expected to return to duty soon as he suffered only minor injuries.

Since 2002, 42 Canadian soldiers have died, most of them in battles in the south of the country over the past few months.

With a report from CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar

================================================================================================================
Speedy recovery boys  :cdn:
 
2 Canadian soldiers injured by landmine in Afghanistan; 1 seriously hurt
BILL GRAVELAND
Online News from the Canadian Press
http://www.cp.org/english/online/OnlineFullStory.aspx?filename=w112139a&newsitemid=72656036&languageid=1

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Five weeks of relative calm were shattered Tuesday by a landmine explosion in the Panjawaii district of Kandahar province that sent two Canadian soldiers to hospital.

Cpl. Michael Barnewall suffered "severe lower body injuries" according to Canadian Forces spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. Kris Phillips.

"His injuries would be very much in line with what one would expect from stepping on or having triggered an anti-personnel device," Phillips told reporters at Kandahar Air Field. "Lower extremity and a relatively serious but non-life threatening injury," he added.

Barnewall had undergone emergency surgery at the base and was to be transported to Germany for further treatment and eventually home to Canada said Phillips. The second victim, who has not been identified, received minor injuries and was expected to return to active duty in the near future.

The two men, from 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. were on foot patrol along Route Summit in the Pashmul area about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar

The road cuts a north-south strip between government centres in the Panjwaii-Zhari regions.

"As you are probably aware with all the rain we've had in the past little while, it's not too uncommon to have mines that may have been laid a long time ago or even recently," said Phillips.

"Mines shift around as the mud moves, as embankments collapse - so it's undetermined to this point as to whether it was new or old, but it certainly seems to fall within the anti-personnel category," he said.

Estimates of the number of landmines and unexploded bombs and shells littering Afghanistan after more than two decades of war range from 600,000 to 10 million.

It was the first time Canadian troops had been injured since Oct. 16 when a suicide bomber rammed his car into a Canadian resupply convoy in Kandahar. The attack killed three Afghan civilians and wounded at least four. A Canadian soldier was slightly injured in the blast.

Two days prior to that, Sgt. Darcy Tedford, 32, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, along with Pte. Blake Williamson, were killed while patrolling a road west of Kandahar when their unit was ambushed by Taliban insurgents who fired a flurry of rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.

"I won't say it's just a matter of time before something like this does happen," said Phillips.

"However, for an incident to occur in the Pashmul area? It's not unexpected. The area is fraught with risks of different kinds and varieties. Mines just happen to be one of them."

Forty-two Canadians have died in action in Afghanistan, while more than 200 have been wounded.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cpl Barnewall is my husbands best friend. This is a terrible thing to have happen. Get well soon Barn, we're thinking of you. And to the other soldier, a speedy recovery as well. We miss you guys here in Petawawa. Pro Patria  :salute: :cdn:
 
rcrgruntsgirl said:
2 Canadian soldiers injured by landmine in Afghanistan; 1 seriously hurt
BILL GRAVELAND
Online News from the Canadian Press
http://www.cp.org/english/online/OnlineFullStory.aspx?filename=w112139a&newsitemid=72656036&languageid=1

It was the first time Canadian troops had been injured since Oct. 16 when a suicide bomber rammed his car into a Canadian resupply convoy in Kandahar. The attack killed three Afghan civilians and wounded at least four. A Canadian soldier was slightly injured in the blast.

Two days prior to that, Sgt. Darcy Tedford, 32, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, along with Pte. Blake Williamson, were killed while patrolling a road west of Kandahar when their unit was ambushed by Taliban insurgents who fired a flurry of rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.

"I won't say it's just a matter of time before something like this does happen," said Phillips.

"However, for an incident to occur in the Pashmul area? It's not unexpected. The area is fraught with risks of different kinds and varieties. Mines just happen to be one of them."

Forty-two Canadians have died in action in Afghanistan, while more than 200 have been wounded.

I read the last CP article and my little mind is struck by the fact that although two soldiers have been injured, the article rakes up two deaths and an injury that are week(s) old.

Reminding everyone that there have been 42 deaths so far is fine but, body count asside, this article about wounded - sticks to the mind as being two eaths.

Media reporting of 1 ramp ceremony in KAF and another one in Trenton for the same individual and all of a sudden, to the general public, there have been twice the deaths (impact) for the press to sling out.
 
Here's wishing that  the families are doing well, and that these soldiers are recovering quickly. God bless the rest of the force and give them a safe tour and a speedy repat.

Cheers
 
Back
Top