Tor Arne Lau Henriksen (February 22, 1974 – July 23, 2007) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

officer who was killed in action in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Lieutenant Lau Henriksen was the first Norwegian soldier to be awarded the

military cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. His name was the "

Name of the Year Name of the Year ( no, Årets navn) is a prize awarded by one of Norway's biggest newspapers, Verdens Gang (VG). Instituted in 1974,

" 2007 in ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

''. He joined ''

Hærens Jegerkommando Hærens Jegerkommando was a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It was the armed forces competence centre for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters were located 30 kilometres north of ...

'' before he went to Afghanistan. During a mission there, Lau Henriksen was killed by members of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

in Lowgar Province. He and other Norwegian soldiers were on a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

mission together with soldiers from the

Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

, when they were attacked by Taliban members dressed as civilians. Lau Henriksen was shot in the chest and became the first soldier from ''Hærens Jegerkommando'' to be killed in action in Afghanistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henriksen, Tor Arne Lau Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 2007 deaths 1974 births