Warrant Officer Bartosz Spychała of the 1st Special Commando Regiment died on Sunday at the military base in Ghazni, south east Afghanistan.

"The circumstances of the death of our colleague are currently subject to clarification by medical staff and military police,” says a statement on the web site of the Polish armed forces.

The 39 year-old officer leaves behind a wife and 15 year-old daughter.

Bartosz Spychała began his military career in 1992 at the military unit in Bialystok and served with the 1st Special Commando Regiment based in Lubliniec since 1994.

Poland currently has 2600 troops and support staff in Afghanistan as part of the multinational ISAF mission.

President Komorowski has indicated that Poland, which is not taking part in military operations over Libya, plans to begin withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2011.

Meanwhile, seven UN staff were killed in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the Balkh province in the north of the country during violent protests against the burning of a Koran by preacher Terry Jones in Florida, US. Thirty people in total have lost their lives in the protests throughout the Middle East and beyond.

The US preacher remained unrepentant of his actions, however. “It is definitely a consideration to stage a trial on the life of Mohammed in the future,” he said. (pg)

Source: IAR/TVP/AP