German Armed Forces casualties in Afghanistan

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With a contingent of nearly 3500 soldiers and policemen, Germany is one of the main contributors of troops to coalition operations in Afghanistan. Although German troops mainly operate in the comparatively quiet north of the country, the Bundeswehr has suffered a number of casualties during participation in the International Security Assistance Force peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

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[edit] Overview

As of June 5, 2008, 26 soldiers and 3 policemen died in Afghanistan, making a total toll of 29 deaths. Among them are the first German reservists to die in hostile actions and the first policeman to die in a deployment abroad. Of a total of 29 fatal casualties, 14 were attributed to enemy action, eleven were caused by accidents and the cause of four still has to be commented on by the authorities.

In addition to these fatalities, 72 German soldiers and 1 police officer suffered injuries of varying degree caused by hostile activity.

(See chronicles below)

[edit] Controversy

The number of fatalities has caused a stir in Germany since on the one hand, it marks the highest number of German soldiers to die in a mission abroad, and on the other hand because the German participation in ISAF and Operation Enduring Freedom, which is now in its fifth year, is much disputed at the moment. ISAF participation marks the first time since WW2 that German ground troops have been confronted with an organized enemy. Prior to 2002, the Armed Forces had sustained only two losses of life connected to direct hostile activities. (A soldier with UN troops in Cambodia was shot dead in 1993. In 2001, a medical officer died when the helicopter he was traveling in was shot down by Georgian insurgents.)

As a direct result of the number of deaths, German Federal Minister of Defence, Franz Josef Jung, presented plans to establish a central memorial for fallen soldiers in Berlin on June 17, 2007. Additionally, the Bundestag received a petition to reestablish the order of the Iron Cross as a visual decoration for soldiers beside the NATO Medal that any soldier would receive for serving in Afghanistan for a respective period.

An incident that occurred on June 26, 2005 and which was firstly believed to be an accident, turned out to be very likely a remote-controlled attack by non-Taliban forces. [1][2]

The cause of death of a soldier who died on September 8, 2007 at an unknown location in Afghanistan has not yet been disclosed. It appears to be a result of suicide.

The cause of death of two soldiers who died in the first half of 2003 has yet to be disclosed. As no official sources specify the circumstances of their deaths, they are very likely not connected to hostile action.

In a statement published on February 2, 2008, MoD Jung confirmed the death of another soldier, but did not specify what caused the death of the serviceman. [3]

Repeatedly, several media reported that twelve Kommando Spezialkräfte Army Special Forces soldiers died in Afghanistan. These statements remained unsourced since no information about KSK-operations are published or commented on by the government. [4] However, due to a press release of US EUCOM [5] it can be confirmed that at least one soldier was wounded in action between June and October 2005 at an unknown location in Afghanistan.

[edit] Chronology of incidents

In the period from 2002 to 2008, a total of 59 noteworthy incidents occurred whereby the frequency of attacks has shifted to the north since 2005.

  • AOR RC North: 37
  • AOR RC West: 2
  • AOR RC Central: 19
  • Unknown: 1


Date Where Nature of incident Circumstances Situation Casualties
02|15|02 Kabul Hostile Riots Riots during a soccer match left five German and Austrian soldiers injured. Locals had tried to storm an overcrowded soccer stadium and attacked the soldiers who tried to block their way. 3 WIA
03|06|02 Kabul Non-Hostile Accidental explosion Two German and three Danish soldiers died when the defusing of a Surface-to-Air-Missile failed. The missile had accidentally exploded due to a defect.

Fatalities
Oberfeldwebel Kochert, Tomas, 11th EOD Coy
Oberfeldwebel Rubel, Mike, 11th EOD Coy

 2 Killed
12|19|02 Kabul Hostile Bomb attack Two Interpreters sustained fatal injuries in an attack on a German position in Kabul. They died one day later. -
12|21|02 Kabul Non-Hostile Accidental helicopter crash A CH-53GS helicopter crashed in Kabul. The exact reason for the crash, which was firstly thought to be enemy fire, turned out to be a mechanical failure concerning the Swashplate of the aircraft. Seven servicemen died.

Fatalities
Hauptgefreiter Schmidt, Enrico, 25th Army Aviation Rgmt
Stabsunteroffizier Ehrlich, Frank, 3rd Technical Center of the Air Force
Hauptfeldwebel Hewußt, Heinz-Ullrich, 15th Army Aviation Rgmt
Hauptfeldwebel Schiebel, Thomas, 25th Army Aviation Rgmt
Hauptfeldwebel Kaiser, Bernd, 15th Army Aviation Rgmt
Oberleutnant Vierling, Uwe, 15th Army Aviation Rgmt
Hauptmann Deininger, Friedrich, 25th Army Aviation Rgmt

 7 killed
03|20|03 Kabul Non-Hostile  ?? Not combat-related incident

Fatalities
Hauptmann Nippus, Holger, 1st German-Dutch Corps

 1 killed
05|17|03 Kabul Non-Hostile  ?? Not combat-related incident

Fatalities
Major Hofert, Alexander, 33rd Fighter Wing

 1 killed
05|29|03 south of Kabul Hostile Landmine One serviceman died and one suffered injuries when the vehicle they were travelling in struck a landmine. They had been on a reconnaissance tour in the south of Kabul.

Fatalities
Stabsgefreiter Kamins, Stefan, AMILGEO

 1 KIA, 1 WIA
06|07|03 Kabul Hostile Suicide bomber attack Four soldiers died and 31 suffered serious injuries when a suicide bomber in a taxi rammed the bus they were travelling in. The bus was not armoured. The soldiers were scheduled to leave Kabul on that day after a six-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Fatalities
Stabsunteroffizier Baasch, Jörg, 940th SIGINT Rgmt
Oberfähnrich Beljo, Andreas, 940th SIGINT Rgmt
Feldwebel Jimenez-Paradis, Helmi, 320th Signal Rgmt
Oberfeldwebel Kühlmorgen, Carsten, 320th Signal Rgmt

 4 KIA, 31 WIA
01|28|04 Kabul Hostile Bomb attack Alleged Taliban-militants carried out simultaneous bomb attacks on British and German positions in Kabul. One British serviceman died and four British and German soldiers as well as five civilian contractors suffered injuries when the explosives were detonated. 2 WIA
05|11|04 Kabul Hostile Rocket attack A German soldier suffered injuries in a rocket attack in Kabul. 1 WIA
06|16|04 Kunduz Hostile IED attack An attack with a roadside bomb (IED) on a German convoy in Kunduz killed three Afghan bystanders and a local contractor who was travelling together with German soldiers in the leading vehicle. Two vehicles were lost. -
09|26|04 Kunduz Hostile Mortar attack Three German and two Swiss soldiers suffered injuries in an indirect fire mortar attack on their base in Kunduz; The base was heavily damaged. Local police repelled the attackers. 3 WIA
11|26|04 Kunduz Hostile IED attack Three Germans suffered injuries when a roadside bomb (IED) exploded near their convoy on its route to Kunduz. 3 WIA
 ??|??|05  ?? Hostile  ?? A special forces soldier with Kommando Spezialkräfte was wounded in action. 1 WIA
06|25|05 Rustaq Hostile Bomb attack Two German soldiers and several local helpers died when old ammunition they had collected to defuse was detonated by hostile forces. This incident was first thought to be an accident; A parliamentarian committee investigation report however regard the incident as an attack with manipulated 107mm rocket by non-Taliban hostile forces.

Fatalities
Hauptfeldwebel Heine, Andreas, 100st Engineer Rgmt
Oberfeldwebel Schlotterhose, Christian, 100st Engineer Rgmt

 2 KIA
08|07|05 Kabul Non-Hostile Vehicle accident One serviceman died when the vehicle he was travelling in accidentally overturned.

Fatalities
Hauptgefreiter Nowitzki, Boris, 345th Army Artillery Training Bn

 1 killed
11|14|05 Kabul Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide bomber killed a German Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel. He is the highest German officer and first reservist to fall in Afghanistan. Two other Germans suffered injuries. A couple of attackers provoked a car accident with the Wolf jeep in which the three Germans were travelling, to force the men to get out of their uparmoured vehicle. Then, another attacker detonated explosives he had strapped on his body.

Fatalities
Oberstleutnant d.R. Franz, Armin, 901st Reserve Bn

 1 KIA, 2 WIA
02|22|06 Kunduz Area Hostile IED attack An IED attack on a German patrol injured one soldier and resulted in the total loss of a "Wolf"-Jeep. 1 WIA
03|17|06 Kunduz Area Hostile IED attack An IED attack on a German patrol resulted only in damage. -
04|07|06 Kunduz Area Hostile IED attack An IED attack against a German convoy on its route in Kunduz province injured three German soldiers and killed one bystander. 3 WIA
04|07|06 Faizabad Area Hostile Hostile fire A Monitoring and Observation Liaison Team (MOLT) of PRT Faizabad was ambushed during a night patrol halt. The attackers were repelled in an exchange of fire. The ambush left three Germans wounded. 3 WIA
05|22|06 Kunduz Area Hostile IED attack An IED attack against an EOD team travelling in a APC did not result in casualties. However, the vehicle was lost due to heavy damages. -
06|26|06 Kabul area Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide bomber attack on a US Forces convoy in Kabul killed several bystanders. A German vehicle within the convoy was heavily damaged, its driver suffered minor injuries. 1 WIA
06|27|06 Kunduz area Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide bomber attack on a German patrol outside of Kunduz killed three bystanders and injured eight. -
06|28|06 Kunduz area Hostile Hostile fire An attack with small arms and RPGs on a German night patrol in Kunduz Province injured three German servicemen. During the firefight, a Fennek LSG and two other vehicles were lost due to damages. 3 WIA
07|09|06 Kabul Hostile Rocket attack An attack with rockets against Camp Warehouse resulted only in damage. -
08|30|06 Kunduz area Hostile Hostile A joint German-Afghan patrol came under fire near the city of Kunduz. No casualties among Western troops were reported. -
12|03|06 Kunduz area Hostile Hostile fire An attack with small arms on a German patrol in Kunduz Province resulted only in damage. The attackers were repelled in a short exchange of fire. -
12|17|06 Kabul Non-Hostile Accidental explosion One soldier was killed when handling live ammunition.

Fatalities
Oberfeldwebel Kopp, Christian, 3rd Army Artillery Recce Bn

 1 killed
05|19|07 Kunduz Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide bomber killed ten people on a crowded market in Kunduz, among them three German servicemen who conducted a patrol there. Furthermore, five soldiers and 13 civilians suffered injuries of varying degree.

Fatalities
Oberfeldwebel d. R. Neumann, Michael, MoD
Oberfeldwebel d. R. Diebel, Michael, MoD
Hauptmann d. R. Standfuß, Matthias, MoD

 3 KIA, 5 WIA
08|15|07 Road to Jalalabad Hostile IED attack An attack with a roadside bomb (IED) against a German convoy killed three policemen assigned to the German mission in Kabul. Together with colleagues, they had been on their way to a shooting range. One of them was a member of Federal Police elite unit GSG 9. Another one had been the bodyguard of Chancellor Angela Merkel and was ought to return to this position soon.

Fatalities
Polizeiobermeister Stoffels, Alexander, Federal Police GSG 9
Polizeiobermeister Keller, Mario, Federal Police
Kriminaloberkommissar Ringel, Jörg, Federal Criminal Investigation Office

 3 KIA, 1 WIA
08|31|07 Kabul Hostile Suicide bomber attack Two Afghan soldiers died and five Belgian and German soldiers suffered injuries when a suicide bomber attacked a German Military Police convoy at the main entrance of Kabul International Airport. Two armoured vehicles were damaged. 2 WIA
09|08|07 Mazar-i-Sharif Non-Hostile Suicide A serviceman was found dead in his barracks in Mazar-i-Sharif; The cause of death is very likely suicide.

Fatalities
??

 1 killed
09|14|07 Kunduz Hostile Rocket attack An attack with 107mm rockets on the German base in Kunduz resulted only in damage. -
10|05|07 Kunduz Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide bomber attack against a German patrol near Kunduz injured three German soldiers, one of them seriously. A man with explosives strapped on this body had thrown himself from a bridge onto an armoured Dingo-Vehicle when it passed a river. 3 WIA
10|08|07 Kunduz Hostile Hostile fire An attack with rockets and small arms fire on the German base in Kunduz resulted only in damage. The attackers were repelled in a shootout and followed by coalition forces, but managed to escape after a short pursuit. -
10|10|07 Kunduz Hostile Rocket attack An attack with rockets against the German base in Kunduz resulted neither in casualties nor in damage. -
10|??|07 Faizabad area Hostile Battle Troops from Afghanistan (400) and Germany (160) conducted a clean and sweep operation in Faizabad area. The offensive was part of "Operation Harekate Yolo I" of the German-led RC North. No casualties were reported among coalition troops. -
10|18|07 Faizabad area Hostile Hostile fire An attack against a German night patrol in Faizabad area resulted neither in casualties nor in damage. A hostile force had surrounded the patrol during a halt and opened fire with small arms and RPGs. After a short exchange of fire, the attackers were repelled when allied aircraft provided CAS. -
10|22|07 Kunduz area Hostile Hostile fire A confrontation between German soldiers and hostile forces outside of Kunduz resulted neither in casualties nor in damage.

A patrol had come across a group of enemies during their attack on ANA troops, and repelled them in an exchange of fire.

 -
11|03-07|07 Ghowrmach district Hostile Battle A battle between coalition troops and hostile forces resulted in no casualties among western troops. The fighting ended on November 7. A number of militants, which was not disclosed yet as of November 7, was killed in the battle. However, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense confirmed "major losses" of the enemy. A senior militant officer is said to have been killed when coalition troops requested CAS on November 6. The Ghowrmach area has been handed over to troops of Afghan National Army's 209th corps.

The battle was part of "Operation Harekate Yolo II" of German-led RC North and included troops from Afghanistan (900), Germany (300), Hungary, Italy, Norway (300) and Spain.

 -
11|10|07 Kunduz area Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide car bomber attack on a German patrol in Kunduz province killed a bystander and injured a police officer. -
11|21|07 Kunduz area Hostile Hostile fire Troops of PRT Kunduz repelled an assault on an ANA base near Kunduz. No casualties among Western troops were reported. -
11|26|07 Kunduz area Hostile IED attack An attack with a remote controlled explosive device against a German patrol in Kunduz province resulted only in damage. -
12|14|07 Kunduz Hostile Rocket attack Three to four rockets hit the base of PRT Kunduz. -
12|18|07 Kunduz Hostile Rocket attack Several rockets hit the base of PRT Kunduz. -
12|27|07 Kunduz area Hostile IED attack An attack with an improvised explosive device on a German patrol of PRT Kunduz resulted only in damage. -
01|02|08 Kunduz airfield Hostile Rocket attack Eight rockets hit a FOB at Kunduz airfield. -
02|19|08 Kunduz Hostile Rocket attack Five rockets hit the base of PRT Kunduz. -
03|27|08 Kunduz area Hostile IED attack A Dingo Patrol Vehicle was turned over by a roadside bomb. Three soldiers suffered serious injuries. 3 WIA
04|09|08 Kunduz area Hostile Suicide bomber attack The attack of a suicide bomber on a German patrol in Kunduz province resulted only in damage. -
04|09|08 Kunduz area Hostile IED attack An attack on a German patrol with a roadside bomb (IED) resulted only in damage. -
04|09|08 Kunduz area Hostile Hostile fire An attack with RPGs and small arms on a German night patrol in Kunduz province resulted only in damage. The attackers were repelled in an exchange of fire. -
04|28|08 Baghlan Hostile Suicide bomber attack A suicide bomber attack on a German patrol resulted neither in casualties nor in damage. -
05|15-26|08 Ghowrmach district Hostile Battle Coalition forces which consisted of troops from Afghanistan (400), Germany (295)and Norway (200) conducted Operation Karez in Western Afghanistan's Ghowrmach district. The first days of the operation saw intense ground combat as described by Norwegian media. No casualties among Western troops were reported. -
05|19|08 Faryab Hostile Hostile fire A confrontation between insurgents and German and Afghan troops in Kunduz province resulted in no casualties. Three leaders of the insurgency in the North of Afghanistan had been detained. -
05|20|08 Feyzabad Hostile Hostile fire An ambush on a Monitoring-and-Liasion-Team of PRT Feyzabad resulted in no casualties. -
05|27|08 Taloquan Hostile IED-attack An attack with an Improvised Explosive Device on German troops resulted only in damage. -
06|05|08 Kabul Hostile Rocket attack A rocket attack on German facilities within Camp Warehouse resulted only in damage. -

[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

[edit] General References

[edit] See also