12th Georgian Mercenary Musketeer killed in Afghanistan

 From our friend Heikki Sipilä

Ahead Of Afghan Troop Buildup, Georgia Loses Twelfth Soldier


http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24336

 Civil Georgia
 January 7, 2012

 Twelfth Georgia Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

 Tbilisi: Corporal Shalva Pailodze from the 31st infantry battalion of the third brigade, deployed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, was "killed as a result of a fatal injury during an attack by Taliban insurgents," the Georgia Ministry of Defense said late on January 6.

 This is the second fatality among Georgian soldiers in a week and the twelfth one since Georgia joined the NATO-led operation in November, 2009. Georgian troops in Afghanistan operate without caveats.

 ...

 The 31st infantry battalion is now in Helmand province for its second six-month deployment.

 The battalion was the first Georgian military unit which was deployed in Helmand to serve alongside U.S. marines in April, 2010; during its first six-month deployment, the battalion lost five of its soldiers.

 On December 20 the Parliament approved President Saakashvili's request to send one additional infantry battalion to Afghanistan on top of 936 Georgian soldiers who already serve as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

 As a result, after sending one more battalion – that is 749 soldiers – Georgia will become the largest non-NATO contributor to ASAF with total of 1,685 troops.

KOMINFORM
http://www.kominform.eu