|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Aug 5, 2012 10:02:24 GMT 12
Two killed as New Zealand team attacked in AfghanistanFairfax NZ News | 9:42AM - Sunday, 05 August 2012TWO NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS have been killed and another six have been wounded in a battle in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province.
The soldiers, serving in the provincial reconstruction team, were attacked when they went to help local security forces who'd encountered suspected insurgents near a village south east of Do Abe, the Defence Force said in a statement today.
Two local security personnel were also killed, and a further 11 people, including one civilian, were wounded.
The firefight took place about 7pm last night New Zealand time.
The six wounded soldiers have been evacuated to a military hospital, but no further information was immediately available on their condition.
Do Abe is in the north east of Bamiyan.
The Defence Force is withholding the names of the dead soldiers for 24 hours saying it wants to give to give next of kin time to grieve.
Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Rhys Jones said, "We are deeply saddened by this loss and, on behalf of the entire New Zealand Defence Force, I extend my deepest sympathies to the family, colleagues and friends of the personnel involved."
The two dead soldiers were both male.
No further information on the age, rank or sex of the dead or wounded troops was being made available until Prime Minister John Key approved the release of this information, a defence spokeswoman said.www.stuff.co.nz/national/7418191/Two-killed-as-New-Zealand-team-attacked-in-Afghanistan
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 5, 2012 11:27:37 GMT 12
This is extremely sad for the New Zealand Defence Force and the families and friends of the two who were killed. My condolences to them. RIP
I hope the six wounded soldiers will all pull through - I assume they are also kiwis.
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 5, 2012 12:06:10 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 5, 2012 12:36:51 GMT 12
LATEST: Prime Minister John Key says two New Zealand soldiers killed in Afghanistan last night have paid the highest price. The pair died after a battle in Bamiyan province, in which six other Kiwis soldiers were wounded. Speaking to media at the Defence Force base at Whenuapai, Key said it was with great sadness he learnt of the deaths. He said the soldiers were killed at about 7pm last night. Three of the injured men were in a serious condition and were likely to come back to New Zealand. Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Rhys Jones said the troops had been called in to aid local forces after an attempted arrest of an insurgent near Do Abe went wrong. The local troops were ambushed while travelling and were killed on the side of the road. The insurgents moved into a building and the New Zealanders were asked to help to fire on that building and secure the area. As they were moving to secure the high ground, they were attacked. The two deaths and six injuries came after a period of two to three minutes' fire, Jones said. Jones said the Kiwis requested air support. One of them was killed immediately. The other was hit in a vital organ and died in a helicopter while being taken out. The deaths bring the total number of New Zealanders who have died in Afghanistan to seven. "It is a reminder of the dangers our soldiers face in Afghanistan," Key said. Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman, also offered his condolences to the families of the two dead soldiers. "We've lost two brave young men. this is going to be felt very heavily among the NZDF." "Today is a day that certainly weighs heavily upon us." www.stuff.co.nz/national/7418191/Two-New-Zealand-soldiers-killed-in-AfghanistanAlright from elsewhere I lurk. They were caught in an ambush with the vehicle being targeted by a RPG and the troops on the ground by machingun and small arms fire. The casualties all happened within a 2 - 3 minute time frame and it is thought in the first volley. Time for some utu. My sympathies and condolences to the whanau, friend & comrades in arms of the two men killed and best wishes for the wounded, their whanau, comrades in arms and friends.
|
|
|
Post by corsair67 on Aug 5, 2012 14:21:31 GMT 12
Does anyone know what sort of vehicle the troops were in when it was ambushed?
One of the articles on stuff.co.nz says an 'armoured vehicle', but does not say what kind of armoured vehicle.
|
|
|
Post by skyhawkdon on Aug 5, 2012 19:36:29 GMT 12
Not armoured enough by the sounds of it!
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 5, 2012 21:46:40 GMT 12
Not a LAV so might've been one of those armoured humvees.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2012 22:19:00 GMT 12
Or one of the Hilux's?
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 5, 2012 22:27:42 GMT 12
Lay off the speculation guys, it is not needed. Just wait for the official reports as to what actually happened instead of trying to be an armchair expert.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 6, 2012 10:44:18 GMT 12
PM releases further details of killed Kiwi soldiers DANYA LEVY AND MICHAEL DALY Last updated 08:45 06/08/2012 Prime Minister John Key says two Kiwi soldiers killed in Afghanistan were in their 20s and neither had children. The Taleban have reportedly claimed responsibility for the deaths of the two New Zealanders, who were killed in Bamiyan when their armoured vehicles were fired at on Saturday night, New Zealand time. A further six New Zealanders were injured. The troops were part of New Zealand's Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) based in the province. They had been called in to help local forces after an attempted arrest of an insurgent near Do Abe went wrong. The New Zealand soldiers were trying to secure the area when they came under fire from a separate group of insurgents. The two dead men were expected to be named about 1pm today. The Defence Force is phoning the families of all 143 members of the PRT. Key this morning said he would contact their families. "They don't have a lot of family. Neither of them are married. One has a partner, but the partner's also part of the New Zealand Defence Force and actually is overseas. The other guy doesn't have a lot of family at all in New Zealand," he told Radio Live. "Fortunately no children were involved." Key this morning said the insurgents who killed the two soldiers may have been testing local forces ahead of New Zealand's withdrawal of Kiwi troops from the Bamiyan province. New Zealand was unlikely to withdraw the PRT earlier than late next year as planned, despite growing danger in Bamiyan, he said. The withdrawal date has already been brought forward by the Government from September 2014 in line with Nato and the United States. "What we will obviously do is take stock of what's taken place, re-group on that and have discussions with our ISAF (International Security and Assistance Force) and Nato partners," Key told TVNZ's Breakfast programme. The situation for New Zealand troops was more hostile than it was when they first went into Bamiyan in 2003, Key said. "There is greater firepower going in from the Taleban, they've got a new bomb maker, they are better resourced and the have moved people up from the Southern provinces." The prime minister said it was believed the attack was from a group of 17 insurgents New Zealand troops had been tracking for some time. "One of the theories is because Bamiyan is one of the first provinces likely to be transitioned, so control going back to the Afghan people, this is a bit of a show of strength if you like, to undermine the confidence of the people of Bamiyan because they know New Zealand is leaving." The soldiers were "extremely well trained and have great equipment" but there were reports a rocket hit their light armoured vehicle, he said. New Zealand would be responding to the increased risks in Bamiyan, Key said. Saturday's attack happened two years to the day after Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell was killed when his patrol was attacked in the same area. The deaths bring the total number of New Zealanders who have died in Afghanistan to seven. Ad Feedback Of those who were injured, three remained in a serious condition last night and were likely to be brought home as soon as possible. The other three suffered moderate injuries. All six had spoken to their families. - © Fairfax NZ News www.stuff.co.nz/national/7420156/Taleban-claim-Kiwi-soldier-killings
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 6, 2012 11:20:05 GMT 12
Taliban claim responsibility for attack on soldiers
06 August 2012 The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack which has cost the lives of two New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan.
But the Taliban tend to claim responsibility for all such attacks, whether they're involved or not.
NATO spokesman in Afghanistan Major Adam Wojack told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking it's difficult to speculate on the motives behind the ambush.
Major Wojack says despite this incident, things have actually been improving in Afghanistan.
"If you just look at indicators from two, three years ago, what we have today as far as people in education, kids in schools - things have improved in a very large way."
Three of the six New Zealand soldiers wounded in the same attack are in a serious condition.
The Prime Minister expects to meet with the families of our two soldiers killed.
It's understood the two 26-year-olds have few relatives in this country.
One of their mothers is flying here from the northern hemisphere.
John Key says it's a tragedy.
He says it's a concern that the incident's happened in an area that's always been deemed reasonably safe.
"That shouldn't stop us leaving, we've done a lot there but in the end at some point the Afghan Government and the Afghan people have to take responsibility for their own future."
Mr Key is sticking to the plan - our troops will come home sometime next year.
But Phil Goff holds little hope for Afghanistan after foreign troops pull out of the country late next year.
Labour's foreign affairs spokesman says the troubles there will never be resolved by the military but by the delivery of a government with the confidence of the people there.
"It needs to be able to deliver decent government to its people, not the corrupt government relying on drug trafficking and warlordism that we've seen."
The names of the soldiers killed will be released at midday.
© 2012 NewsTalkZB, NZCity
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 6, 2012 18:40:06 GMT 12
It was a LAV & one of the L/CPLs who was killed was the LAV commander. He was dismounted apparently directing the vehicle. The second L/CPL was killed whilst trying to rescue the patrol CO. The insurgents attacked the base the patrol was operating from this morning. Five of the wounded have been medivaced to a hospitalin Germany and the sixth who tooka round in the neck will be medivaced to the hospital in Germany when he is stabilised enough to safely make the journey. The patrol was called in to support the ANP who struck problems when they were attempting to arrest a suspected bomb maker and other insurgents. This is a precis of what CDF said on 3 News tonight.
|
|
|
Post by classicman on Aug 7, 2012 8:11:25 GMT 12
"Lay off the speculation guys, it is not needed. Just wait for the official reports as to what actually happened instead of trying to be an armchair expert."
Jeez Dave, your whole forum is based on a bunch of us armchair experts chatting about stuff we find interesting and about which we know a little bit. This is your forum's life-blood - please don't turn into the pPrune-like forum thought police.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 7, 2012 8:41:15 GMT 12
Classicman, it has long been forum policy that when an aircraft crashes and particularly when deaths are involved that forum members should not crap on with their own speculative opinions and rumours, because of the embarrassment it causes to the family, friends and investigators and to the forum as a whole when such nonsense dribbles out of people's minds who think they know it all. I see no reason not to quash such similar speculation about Army deaths.
People coming up with their own wild theories in an attempt to beat the official news releases with their guesses is extremely unattractive. How on earth anyone can post their theorised "facts" before they are officially released and feel proud of themselves is beyond me.
Just look above in this thread where Ngatimozart claims "Not a Lav" and further down the page after the official release states "It was a LAV." Case in point.
Believe me, I am not the thought police and allow endless wild theorising on other such topics about what the Air Force and navy will buy in 20 years time, boring and inane as they are. It is and never has been welcome on topics where people have been injured or have died however. Think how you'd feel if it was you or your family being speculated about, by strangers without an ounce of actual knowledge of the case, basing their statements on scuttlebuck picked up from other forums or their own interpretations and guesses. It's just not on.
|
|
|
Post by Andy Wright on Aug 7, 2012 12:06:00 GMT 12
Sad news indeed. Condolences to the families and best wishes to the wounded soldiers during their recovery. Let's not forget how much of a struggle they probably face. They deserve as much support as the families of those lost.
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 7, 2012 16:25:58 GMT 12
My apologies for my original comment about the vehicle not being a LAV but the source where I got it from is usually fairly reliable. That source is within NZDF & was certain it was an armoured Humvee. When CDF made his comments yesterday I wrote a precis of them. Because of my university background I do base what I write on published material or other authorative sources.
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 7, 2012 19:44:24 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 8, 2012 19:49:51 GMT 12
Final salute for fallen soldiers
|
|
|
Post by ngatimozart on Aug 9, 2012 22:43:48 GMT 12
I got this from the NZDF Vets facebook page. Nothing needs to be added.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 13, 2012 19:15:33 GMT 12
There was a very interesting piece on 3 News tonight about Major Craig Wilson who was the commander in the firefight where these two men were killed, and he was himself wounded. he told 3 News that the actions in this battle deserve strong recognition, especially L/Cpl malone who saved him and was killed going back to save another member of the group. According to 3 News Wilson says the levels of bravery and professionalism were equal to that of the firefight in which Cpl Willie Apiata received the Victoria Cross, and Wilson should know as he was the commander in that battle two, and it was revealed in the piece that Wilson also was given a valour award for his part then - something not revealled till now.
|
|