Polish commandos return home from Afghan rescue mission
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
25.06.2017 08:56
The Polish commandos who last month helped rescue 11 hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan were among 50 soldiers who arrived home aboard an American air force plane on Saturday.
Poland's Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz officially welcoms commandos. Photo: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński.
They were officially welcomed home by Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz in Wrocław, western Poland.
Macierewicz pointed out the Polish special forces soldiers who in May supported Afghan troops' rescue of four police officers, two soldiers, and five civilians, who had been imprisoned and tortured for four months in a prison in the Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.
“These people are the bravest of our commandos. We thank them also that today we can stand shoulder to shoulder with American soldiers, NATO soldiers, and tell them to their face 'we don not take anything for free, we pay with the blood and effort of our soldiers for your service' [in Poland]”.
Poland has supplied soldiers to command missions and advise Afghan military and police, as well as defence and interior ministry institutions, under NATO's Resolute Support mission to Afghanistan. (vb)
Source: PAP