An explosion has killed an interpreter working for international peacekeepers in Afghanistan and lightly injured a Dutch soldier. The blast hit the men in Baghrami district, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of the capital, Kabul, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said, adding that it was not immediately clear whether it had been a terrorist attack.
| Could have been a leftover mine. There are enough of them... |
Both were airlifted from the scene as Isaf troops blocked off the scene of the incident on a street lined by shops and mud houses. Spokesmen would not say if the explosion had been an attack on its patrol or what kind of device was detonated. The injured man is a 23-year-old corporal with the 11th Air Mobile Brigade, Isaf said. Isaf's German commander, Lieutenant General Norbert van Heyst, warned earlier this week that Islamic extremists might launch attacks on Isaf if the United States attacked Iraq.
US troops are currently leading a coalition force to track down Taleban and al-Qaeda Islamic militants in Afghanistan, but Isaf's role is confined to policing the capital. |