The Polish soldier, found dead yesterday in the Afghani district of Ajuristan, was shot by an Afghan sniper.
Captain Daniel Ambrozinski was shot dead on Monday when a patrol, comprising dozens of Polish and Afghan troops was attacked by the Taliban. Polish soldiers were patrolling the area as part of the “Over the Top” operation and fell into a trap set by Afghan fighters. The fight was uneven. Joint Polish-Afghan forces had to confront 50-100 rebels. During the shoot-out, Captain Ambrozinski tried to shoot a sniper located on the roof of a nearby house.
“[Ambrozinski] took several shots in the snipers’ direction and then leaned out to check if they reached him. Then he was shot in the chest,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dariusz Kacperczyk, the spokesman of the Operational Headquarters. The commander of the patrol tried to evacuate Ambrozinski, dragged him 30 metres from the spot, called a medical helicopter and started resuscitation but Ambrozinski passed away too quickly. Later, the patrol withdrew from the position and Polish and American combat helicopters joined the battle.
After six hours of fighting, Polish soldiers came back to the battlefield to collect the body of Captain Ambrozinski. Afghan fighters set another trap for them. In the place where Ambrozinski’s body was assumed to be, there was a body of an Afghan man, probably covered with mines. Polish captain’s body was found later in a different place, thanks to Afghan civilians.
“It took so much time to find the body of Captain Ambrozinski because the fight covered a huge area and Polish troops had to take special security measures,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dariusz Kacperczyk.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that there is an ongoing investigation over the death of Polish soldier and, soon, a detailed report will be released.
“I want to make sure that Polish soldiers in Afghanistan were well protected and want an explanation as to why reinforcement troops arrived so late,” said Tusk. (mg/mmj)
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Klich expects Afghanistan report in a month , thenews.pl 13.08.2009
UPDATE - Polish soldier found dead in Afghanistan , thenews.pl 11.08.2009