Related articles

A Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan last year has been awarded the US Bronze Star Medal in memoriam. The Bronze Star Medal, one of the highest US decorations for bravery in a combat zone, was presented to Tomáš Procházka’s close family by an embassy representative on Friday.

Corporal Tomáš Procházka, a specialist in training dogs, was shot dead in October 2018 while returning from a routine mission outside his base in Herat Province.

The Czech Army’s six-year mission in helping maintain security at the Bagram military base in Afghanistan will soon come to an end. Newly, the army’s tasks will focus on monitoring and supporting Afghan special forces and operating a field hospital in the country.

A Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan last year will receive in memoriam the Bronze Star Medal, a U.S. decoration for meritorious service in a combat zone.

Corporal Tomáš Procházka, a specialist in training dogs, was shot dead in October 2018 while returning from a routine mission outside his base in Herat Province.

A U.S. Embassy official will present the posthumous award at a ceremony on Friday also attended by Czech Army chief of staff General Aleš Opata.

The Czech Army will cease guarding a NATO-led forces air base in Bagram, Afghanistan at the end of March. The Czech minister of defence, Lubomír Metnar, revealed the decision to journalists while on a visit to Czech troops on Friday.

The Czechs have been looking after internal security at the Bagram base for six years. At present the country has around 170 soldiers on the ground.

Mr. Metnar said the Czech Republic would now focus on training Afghan special forces, while it would also send a military medical team to the country.

A number of Czech soldiers have been killed on the current mission over the years.

The Czech Republic's Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček visited Afghanistan this week, two months before the country's presidential elections. The Social Democrat minister highlighted the need for further peace talks in the country after a meeting with the Asian state's government representatives. He also met with the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic Abdullah Abdullah, who is one of the men currently running in the country's presidential elections.

The trip included a visit to Bagram Air Field, where Mr. Petříček met with Czech soldiers and praised their work.

Czech military police have taken four people into custody in connection with the death of an Afghan commando and terror suspect beaten while in NATO custody. A state prosecutor said they face charges for failing to report a crime.

The Afghan commando, Wahidullah Khan, was accused of killing a Czech soldier in October 2018 in one of many insider attacks by Afghan forces on NATO troops last year.

He allegedly opened fire on a group of Czech soldiers at Shindand air base, a facility in Herat Province in western Afghanistan. That attack killed Cpl. Tomáš Procházka and wounded two other Czech soldiers.

At the time, Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar (for ANO) rejected that Czech soldiers were responsible for Khan’s death. The Defence Ministry has declined to comment on Thursday’s arrest of four people.

The Czech Republic currently has 345 soldiers in Afghanistan. So far, 14 Czech soldiers have been killed there.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has received a diplomatic note from Afghanistan concerning the death of three Czech soldiers in the country a year ago, the news site iRozhlas reported on Thursday. The three Czech service members were killed by a suicide bomber while conducting a joint foot patrol with U.S. and local soldiers in eastern Afghanistan in August.

The foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Zuzana Štíchová says the details of the note cannot be unveiled for reasons of confidentiality. According to iRozhlas, it is related to a retaliation attack by Czech and US soldiers on accomplices of the suicide bomber.

In the spring of 1989, the dissident Václav Havel was in prison and the Czechoslovak army was preparing for a possible clash with Western imperialists under the banner “With the Soviet Union forever.” A decade later, on March 12, 1999, President Havel presided over the Czech Republic’s entry into the NATO military alliance, embracing the collective security while noting it would not come without sacrifice.

American and Czech soldiers are under investigation in connection with the death of an Afghan commando who was beaten while in NATO custody in western Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The commando, Wahidullah Khan, was accused of killing a Czech soldier last month in one of four deadly insider attacks this year by Afghan forces on NATO troops. Jan Pejšek, a spokesman for the Czech Ministry of Defence, has confirmed the ongoing investigation, but strongly denied accusations that Czech troops were involved in Mr. Khan’s death.

On October 22, Khan opened fire on a group of Czech soldiers at Shindand air base, in western Afghanistan. The attack killed one Czech soldier and wounded two others. He was arrested by Afghan troops and was taken into custody by Western forces. By the time he was returned to Afghan forces, around midnight, he had been beaten and was unconscious, Afghan officials said.

The body of another Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan was laid to rest on Wednesday. The funeral took place in his hometown, Prachatice, with full military honours.

Corp.Tomáš Procházka, who was 42 and specialised in dog training, was shot dead on October 22 while returning from a routine mission outside his base in Herat Province. Two other Czech soldiers were injured in the attack.

He was the fourth Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan this year. The first three died in a suicide bomb attack while on a patrol in early August.