Afghanistan: Two Spanish Troops Killed, Three Injured In Blast
By KUNA
Two Spanish soldiers were killed in a blast which targeted their armoured military vehicle, while travelling close to their base in Badghis Province, northwestern Afghanistan on Sunday.
The explosion also led to severe injuries of another three soldiers, a Spanish Defence Ministry statement said.
The attack on the Spanish base is the second in two weeks, after another on July 18 left four soldiers and a civilian translator severely injured – two of whom lost a leg as a result.
The recent attack brings the number of Spanish personnel killed while on duty in Afghanistan to 95 soldiers, since the start of Spanish operations in the war-torn country back in 2002, as part of the NATO-led ISAF role, aimed at training the Afghan army to assume command of security.
Spain has a current deployment of up to 1,566 soldiers, and aims to lessen this by 10 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2012, and by another 40 percent by the end of the first quarter of the following year.
Last week, Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, announced a total withdrawal, after consultation with Afghan authorities, by 2014.
