Fokus: Gurkhasoldater, Gurkhabrigaden, og Gurkhaer generelt
Tenkte å poste denne i Interessante Nyhetslinker-tråden, men kom til at dette kanskje fortjener sin egen tråd.
For dem som ikke gidder lese hele artikkelen, her følger en kjappere Norsk oppsummering;
En Britisk enhet i Helmand bestående av Gurkhasoldater hadde i oppdrag å ta seg inn i et fiendtlig område for å enten drepe eller ta til fange en identifisert Talibankommandant som ifølge etteretning befant seg nettopp her.
Underveis ble det som forventet en stor fight av det hele og denne kommandanten ble drept i skuddvekslingen. Med oppdraget forsåvidt utført med å drepe denne kommandanten kunne styrken trekke seg tilbake, men man trengte å få eksfiltrert liket for å kunne identifisere at man faktisk hadde tatt rette personen.
Enheten var under såpass tung og presis ild at det ikke lot seg gjøre å eksfiltrere hele liket, derfor tok en av disse soldatene, en kar i 20-årene, litt i overkant mye initiativ og dro fram sin khukiri (tradisjonell Gurkhakniv) og hugget hodet av liket til denne kommandant i den hensikt at enheten skulle få mindre å bære på, men samtidig som man hadde nok materiale til å kunne få PID på om man hadde tatt rett person eller ei (ansikt og DNA i dette tilfellet).
Dette er ifølge Islam en grov krenkelse av legemet og ifølge Islamsk tradisjon skal hele legemet begraves samlet så fort det lar seg gjøre etter at døden inntreffer.
Denne Gurkhasoldat har etter denne incident blitt repatriert tilbake til UK og er nå siktet for likskjending samt brudd på Genevekonvensjonen som forbyr skjending av fiendens døde. Blir han dømt risikerer han fengsel.
Det Britiske forsvaret sitt standpunkt er at dem tar stor avstand fra denne handlingen, dem sier at denne handling over hodet ikke hjelper på med å fostre "hearts and minds" opp imot Afghanerne, dette samtidig som at en tidligere Britisk kontingentsjef mener at denne handling ble utført "i god tro" av denne soldat, men at handlingen ikke kan forsvares på noen måte.
Her følger den faktiske artikkelen, skrevet av Daily Mail;
Vel, noen tanker om dette her blant folket på Milforum?
For dem som ikke gidder lese hele artikkelen, her følger en kjappere Norsk oppsummering;
En Britisk enhet i Helmand bestående av Gurkhasoldater hadde i oppdrag å ta seg inn i et fiendtlig område for å enten drepe eller ta til fange en identifisert Talibankommandant som ifølge etteretning befant seg nettopp her.
Underveis ble det som forventet en stor fight av det hele og denne kommandanten ble drept i skuddvekslingen. Med oppdraget forsåvidt utført med å drepe denne kommandanten kunne styrken trekke seg tilbake, men man trengte å få eksfiltrert liket for å kunne identifisere at man faktisk hadde tatt rette personen.
Enheten var under såpass tung og presis ild at det ikke lot seg gjøre å eksfiltrere hele liket, derfor tok en av disse soldatene, en kar i 20-årene, litt i overkant mye initiativ og dro fram sin khukiri (tradisjonell Gurkhakniv) og hugget hodet av liket til denne kommandant i den hensikt at enheten skulle få mindre å bære på, men samtidig som man hadde nok materiale til å kunne få PID på om man hadde tatt rett person eller ei (ansikt og DNA i dette tilfellet).
Dette er ifølge Islam en grov krenkelse av legemet og ifølge Islamsk tradisjon skal hele legemet begraves samlet så fort det lar seg gjøre etter at døden inntreffer.
Denne Gurkhasoldat har etter denne incident blitt repatriert tilbake til UK og er nå siktet for likskjending samt brudd på Genevekonvensjonen som forbyr skjending av fiendens døde. Blir han dømt risikerer han fengsel.
Det Britiske forsvaret sitt standpunkt er at dem tar stor avstand fra denne handlingen, dem sier at denne handling over hodet ikke hjelper på med å fostre "hearts and minds" opp imot Afghanerne, dette samtidig som at en tidligere Britisk kontingentsjef mener at denne handling ble utført "i god tro" av denne soldat, men at handlingen ikke kan forsvares på noen måte.
Her følger den faktiske artikkelen, skrevet av Daily Mail;
Gurkha ordered back to UK after beheading dead Taliban fighter
A Gurkha soldier has been flown back to the UK after hacking the head off a dead Taliban commander with his ceremonial knife to prove the dead man’s identity.
The private, from 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, was involved in a fierce firefight with insurgents in the Babaji area of central Helmand Province when the incident took place earlier this month.
His unit had been told that they were seeking a ‘high value target,’ a Taliban commander, and that they must prove they had killed the right man
The Gurkhas had intended to remove the Taliban leader’s body from the battlefield for identification purposes.
But they came under heavy fire as their tried to do so. Military sources said that in the heat of battle, the Gurkha took out his curved kukri knife and beheaded the dead insurgent.
He is understood to have removed the man’s head from the area, leaving the rest of his body on the battlefield.
This is considered a gross insult to the Muslims of Afghanistan, who bury the entire body of their dead even if parts have to be retrieved.
British soldiers often return missing body parts once a battle has ended so the dead can be buried in one piece.
A source said: ‘Removing the head in this way was totally inappropriate.’
Army sources said that the soldier, who is in his early 20s, initially told investigators that he unsheathed his kukri – the symbolic weapon of the Gurkhas – after running out of ammunition.
But later the Taliban fighter was mutilated so his identity could be verified through DNA tests.
The source said: ‘The soldier has been removed from duty and flown home. There is no sense of glory involved here, more a sense of shame. He should not have done what he did.’
The incident, which is being investigated by senior commanders, is hugely embarrassing to the British Army, which is trying to build bridges with local Afghan communities who have spent decades under *Taliban rule.
It comes just days after a rogue Afghan soldier murdered three British troops from the same Gurkha regiment.
If the Gurkha being investigated by the Army is found guilty of beheading the dead enemy soldier, he will have contravened the Geneva Conventions which dictate the rules of war. Soldiers are banned from demeaning their enemies.
The Gurkha now faces disciplinary action and a possible court martial. If found guilty, he could be jailed.
He is now confined to barracks at the Shorncliffe garrison, near Folkestone, Kent.
The incident happened as the Gurkha troop was advancing towards a hostile area before engaging the enemy in battle.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘In this case, it appears that the *soldier was not acting maliciously, but his actions were clearly ill-judged.
‘The Gurkhas are a very fine regiment with a proud tradition of service in the British forces and have fought very bravely in Afghanistan.
'I have no doubt that this behaviour would be as strongly condemned by the other members of that regiment, as it would by all soldiers in the British forces.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We are aware of an incident and have informed the Afghan authorities. An inves-t*igation is underway and it would not be appropriate to comment further until this is concluded.’
The Ministry also revealed yesterday that four British servicemen had been killed in Afghanistan in 24 hours.
An airman from the RAF Regiment died in a road accident near Camp Bastion in Helmand and a marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines was killed in an explosion in Sangin on Friday.
A Royal Dragoon Guard died in a blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province yesterday. The fourth serviceman also died in an explosion.
The British death toll in the Afghan campaign since 2001 is now 322.
A Gurkha soldier has been flown back to the UK after hacking the head off a dead Taliban commander with his ceremonial knife to prove the dead man’s identity.
The private, from 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, was involved in a fierce firefight with insurgents in the Babaji area of central Helmand Province when the incident took place earlier this month.
His unit had been told that they were seeking a ‘high value target,’ a Taliban commander, and that they must prove they had killed the right man
The Gurkhas had intended to remove the Taliban leader’s body from the battlefield for identification purposes.
But they came under heavy fire as their tried to do so. Military sources said that in the heat of battle, the Gurkha took out his curved kukri knife and beheaded the dead insurgent.
He is understood to have removed the man’s head from the area, leaving the rest of his body on the battlefield.
This is considered a gross insult to the Muslims of Afghanistan, who bury the entire body of their dead even if parts have to be retrieved.
British soldiers often return missing body parts once a battle has ended so the dead can be buried in one piece.
A source said: ‘Removing the head in this way was totally inappropriate.’
Army sources said that the soldier, who is in his early 20s, initially told investigators that he unsheathed his kukri – the symbolic weapon of the Gurkhas – after running out of ammunition.
But later the Taliban fighter was mutilated so his identity could be verified through DNA tests.
The source said: ‘The soldier has been removed from duty and flown home. There is no sense of glory involved here, more a sense of shame. He should not have done what he did.’
The incident, which is being investigated by senior commanders, is hugely embarrassing to the British Army, which is trying to build bridges with local Afghan communities who have spent decades under *Taliban rule.
It comes just days after a rogue Afghan soldier murdered three British troops from the same Gurkha regiment.
If the Gurkha being investigated by the Army is found guilty of beheading the dead enemy soldier, he will have contravened the Geneva Conventions which dictate the rules of war. Soldiers are banned from demeaning their enemies.
The Gurkha now faces disciplinary action and a possible court martial. If found guilty, he could be jailed.
He is now confined to barracks at the Shorncliffe garrison, near Folkestone, Kent.
The incident happened as the Gurkha troop was advancing towards a hostile area before engaging the enemy in battle.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘In this case, it appears that the *soldier was not acting maliciously, but his actions were clearly ill-judged.
‘The Gurkhas are a very fine regiment with a proud tradition of service in the British forces and have fought very bravely in Afghanistan.
'I have no doubt that this behaviour would be as strongly condemned by the other members of that regiment, as it would by all soldiers in the British forces.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We are aware of an incident and have informed the Afghan authorities. An inves-t*igation is underway and it would not be appropriate to comment further until this is concluded.’
The Ministry also revealed yesterday that four British servicemen had been killed in Afghanistan in 24 hours.
An airman from the RAF Regiment died in a road accident near Camp Bastion in Helmand and a marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines was killed in an explosion in Sangin on Friday.
A Royal Dragoon Guard died in a blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province yesterday. The fourth serviceman also died in an explosion.
The British death toll in the Afghan campaign since 2001 is now 322.
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