Posted on 06/15/2007 3:19:12 PM PDT by knighthawk
For the second time in two months, a Dutch soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. A suicide bomber blew himself up in the centre of Tarin Kowt in the province of Uruzgan, killing one soldier and wounding three others. Five Afghan children were also killed in the attack, and thirteen Afghan civilians were wounded.
The Dutch soldiers, part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, were on their way back from a meeting with Afghan women in Tarin Kowt. The group was escorted by a team of heavily-armed Dutch soldiers from the Quick Reaction Force.
The car carrying the bomb came out of a side street, ramming the lead car of the convoy. The attack took place near the site where President Hamid Karzai has his headquarters in 2001.
Relatively safe area
Tarin Kowt has been relatively quite recently, and the area is considered reasonably safe. The Dutch Army Chief of Staff Dick Berlijn called the attack a cowardly act.
Dutch Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop agreed, adding: "It doesn't seem to make a difference to them if they kill soldiers or if they kill children. We knew this mission was risky, but the local population can continue to count on our support. We're for an Afghanistan where children can safely go to school."
The Dutch government will decide this summer whether or not to extend the mission in Afghanistan past its current end date in 2008.
Ping
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