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More Troops Killed in Afghanistan
Friday, August 30, 2002
The Associated Press

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he was "deeply saddened" by the casualties but said that the incident would not cause Germany to question its participation in the security force in Afghanistan.



In Copenhagen, Danish Defence Minister Svend Aage Jensby expressed his "deep sympathy to the families and loved ones of the victims, as well as their colleagues in the region."



Three Danish and two German soldiers were killed when munitions they were defusing in Kabul accidentally exploded, the chief of the German armed forces, Harald Kujat said.

Kujat said the "very tragic accident" occurred when Russian-type SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles went off prematurely during explosives clean-up work in the Afghan capital.

Seven other soldiers assisting in the operation were injured, three of them severely, and were taken to a German military hospital. The injured included at least two Danes.

Kujat said it was not immediately clear why the munitions, which had been taken to a demolition range near the German base in eastern Kabul, had detonated while the soldiers were still nearby.
(More: The Herald Sun News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

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