Afghan casualties
June 2, 2011
A German soldier has been killed in a bomb attack in Afghanistan's Baghlan province, in an attack that left at least five other German soldiers injured.
A spokesman for the Bundeswehr Operations Command in Potsdam said the attack on the German ISAF soldiers occurred around 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of the city of Kunduz.
The spokesman said the soldiers were on patrol in a German armored personnel carrier when a roadside bomb, believed to be an improvised explosive device, exploded.
The fatality is the fourth among German troops in Afghanistan in the last 10 days. The other soldiers - two of whom are said to be seriously injured and three lightly - were taken to the German base in Kunduz by helicopter.
The Taliban has taken responsibility for the attack in a text message.
No turning back
As Germany mourned the soldiers killed in recent days, Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere emphasized that the nation would not pull out of Afghanistan.
"We cannot yield to violence," he said Thursday. "If we leave now, the Afghan's trust would be shaken ... We want security and development, not terror and repression."
Two German soldiers were among seven people killed last Saturday at a government building in the provincial city of Talokan. Among the wounded in that attack was the German commander of NATO's northern ISAF force, General Markus Kneip.
Last Wednesday, another German soldier was killed in an attack on a patrol in the northern province of Kunduz.
Author: Gregg Benzow, Sarah Harman (dpa, dapd, AP, AFP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler