Ministry of Interior and Administration -- The funeral of Bartosz Orzechowski, GBP officer killed in the terrorist attack on the Polish Ambassador in Baghdad, was attended by Mr. Lech Kaczyński, President of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Władysław Stasiak, Minister of Interior and Administration, Mrs. Anna Fotyga, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Management of the Government Protection Bureau and representatives of the Government.

"We pay last tribute to the man who has reminded all of us the meaning of the word ’service‘, service to Poland. We pay last tribute to the man who has reminded all of us the meaning of words ’sacrifice for the homeland’. This is a great lesson for all of us." said Minister W. Stasiak in his funeral speech.

Immense significance of Bartosz Głowacki dedication was also emphasized in the homily delivered by Tadeusz Płoski, military bishop of the Polish Army.

"He understood his service in Iraq as a patriotic duty in the interest of our homeland, for which he was always ready to die, as he was saying to his relatives." said the bishop.

Time -- The death of a Polish soldier in the southern city of Diwaniyah Friday was a reminder that militants will still find ways to strike — and that Americans aren't their only targets.

Senior Cpl. Andrzej Filipek, a 31-year-old father of two who was just beginning his third tour with the Polish force in Southern Iraq, was killed by a powerful roadside bomb Friday morning near a joint Iraqi-Polish outpost in this tumultuous city deep in Iraq's Shi'ite heartland.

He was the 22nd Polish soldier to die in Iraq since the autumn of 2003, when Poland first sent troops into the country. He was the first Pole killed in action in more than six months and his death comes at a delicate time for a newly elected Polish government, which is under intense domestic pressure to pull out all its people of Iraq by next year.

After the British force, which recently pulled out of Basra, the 900-strong Polish unit is the largest international contingent serving with the U.S. in Iraq.

"The Poles have been serving down here on a year-by-year basis, and some in the new government aren't too sure they want to stick around," said Army Col. Dave Leckrone, the senior American commander in southern Iraq. "Things like today's attack don't make things any easier.

From Poland's PAP new agency:

IRAQ-OFFICER-DEATH
Sudden death of Polish officer in Iraq

Warsaw, July 18: Thirty-nine-year-old Polish officer, the commander of the independent airborne storm group has suddenly died at the military base in al-Divaniyah in Iraq, spokesman for the defence ministry Jaroslaw Rybak has reported.

Major Jaroslaw Posadzy from the 25th Airborne cavalry in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, central Poland, suddenly fainted and died despite immediate resuscitation action. The causes of his death will be known after a post-mortem.

Poland.pl -- One Polish soldier has been killed and four others wounded in when a military vehicle hit a improvised explosive device (IED). The incident took place in the northern part of ad Diwaniya, near to the Polish Echo base.

The victim was 25-year-old Private Tomasz Jura. Spokesman of Poland's Defence Ministry Jaros_aw Rybak said that Private Jura was a volunteer, a machine-gun operator. He has been serving in the army for 3 years.

"The mission [in Iraq] has became more dangerous for the Polish contingent. The patrol was attacked by means of a booby trap. The wounded were transported to the Polish base hospital but their livers are not endangered" Gen. Koziej informed.

"The IED can be detonated from a long distance, so the terrorists could choose the moment for the explosion" the spokesman of Ministry explained.

Free Republic -- Another Polish soldier serving in Iraq has been killed when a military vehicle on its way between two allied bases hit a booby trap. This is the 19th to be killed in action, as the country struggles to maintain stability with the assistance of US-led forces, in which Poland has been taking an active part.

A Polish convoy driving from the Scania military base in Nippur to the Echo base in ad Diwaniya was attacked. One of the vehicles, a Hummer with four Polish men inside was destroyed when it hit a booby trap laid by what was described as a well-equipped group of attackers. One Polish soldier was killed in the explosion, as Marek Zieli_ski, the spokesman for the Central South Multinational Division in Iraq explains.

‘One of the soldiers, 23-year-old private Piotr Nita, was killed on the spot. The attack took place about 21 kilometers North of ad Diwaniya, where the Echo military base is situated, and where the soldiers are stationed. Three other men were wounded in the blast. They received minor skin burns, abrasions and there is also a shrapnel wound of a right lower leg.’