The Polish soldier, missing since yesterday in the Afghani district of Ajuristan, has been found dead.

Click on the icon above to listen to the report by Slawek Szefs.

The body of 32-year-old Captain Daniel Ambrozinski was found by a Polish-Afghan-American squad at 2.30 CET after an all-night search.

Ambrozinski, who trained Afghan troops, was shot dead when a patrol comprising dozens of Polish and Afghan troops was attacked by the Taliban. According to Lieutenant Colonel Dariusz Kacperczyk, the spokesman of the Operational Headquarters, Polish soldiers were patrolling the area as part of the “Over the Top” operation which had been conducted there since Mid-July. It was an uneven fight. There were twice more Taliban than Polish soldiers and the rivals had heavy weapons.

Shooting lasted six hours and, as a result, eight Afghans and four Poles were injured and one died. “It has been the most violent shoot-out since our troops started military operations in Afghanistan,” said the Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

“It took so much time to find the body of Captain Ambrozinski because the fight covered a huge area,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dariusz Kacperczyk. Tuesday, in the Ghazni military base a farewell ceremony will be held to commemorate Captain Daniel Ambrozinski. Later, the Captain body will be transported to Bagram base and then to Poland.  

Poland has 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Recently, the Polish contingent has set up their base in the Ajuristan region. So far, ten Poles have been killed in the course of Polish mission in Afghanistan.

The Polish Ministry of Defense is considering adding 200 more troops to the Polish units already present in Afghanistan. (mg/di/mmj)