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Stark
06-24-2009, 03:23 AM
Three German soldiers died on Tuesday amid heavy fighting in northern Afghanistan. The casualties are just the latest indication that security in the north, the region in which Germany leads the peacekeeping effort, is deteriorating.

The three German troops who died on Tuesday were travelling in an armored personnel carrier like this one.
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DDP

The three German troops who died on Tuesday were travelling in an armored personnel carrier like this one.
For months, attacks on German troops operating in the northern Afghanistan region around Kunduz have been increasing. On Tuesday, three Bundeswehr soldiers died in yet another Taliban offensive.

According to the Defense Ministry in Berlin, Islamist insurgents attacked a patrol six kilometers southwest of Kunduz with grenade launchers and small arms fire. In the ensuing firefight, an armored personnel carrier plunged into a deep ditch full of water. Two soldiers died immediately in the accident and may have drowned. A third was pulled free of the wreck but died a short time later.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, visiting troops in the northern German city of Kiel on Tuesday, announced the tragedy. "I have bad news. Three soldiers in Afghanistan have died in the service of peace," he said. Those present held a moment of silence in honor of the fallen.

Graphic: Coalition deaths in Afghanistan.
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DER SPIEGEL

Graphic: Coalition deaths in Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke of a "cowardly attack" and said that "together with Afghan officials, we will do everything in our power to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice."

Mohammed Omar, the governor of Kunduz Province, told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the three German soldiers drowned in the accident. His description of the accident largely matched that of the Bundeswehr. "After the vehicle fell into the ditch, the three German soldiers couldn't be pulled out fast enough," he said.

The casualties bring the total of German deaths in Afghanistan to 35.

Taliban fighters have become increasingly active in a region around Kunduz known as Char Dara, where Tuesday's attack took place. Recent weeks have seen numerous extended firefights between the Taliban and Afghan troops. German patrols have likewise come under frequent fire.

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Additionally, increased Taliban presence has resulted in the closure of numerous girls' schools in the region. Many parents have stopped sending their children to classes in response to threatening Taliban notes -- so-called "night letters" -- posted on the front doors of regional schools.

The Bundeswehr has recently increased its presence in Char Dara. A high-ranking member of the Afghan secret service NDS spoke to SPIEGEL ONLINE of firefights on Tuesday morning prior to the deadly incident. A Defense Ministry spokesman in Berlin said that a number of soldiers were injured in the fighting, but couldn't say if they were Afghan or German.

Jung said that the German mission in Afghanistan would carry on despite the increasing number of casualties. "The operation in Afghanistan must continue," he said.

With reporting by Matthias Gebauer

greenmamba
06-24-2009, 04:07 AM
R.I.P Boys

My thoughts and wishes go out to their comrades and families

Mooney
06-24-2009, 04:30 AM
It's hard, but keep up the good work!

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!

Only the dead have seen the end of war (Plato).

laufchris
06-24-2009, 08:12 AM
R.I.P. Bro´s........

golem
06-24-2009, 10:09 AM
Ruhet in Frieden Brüder.

Cruelbreed
06-24-2009, 02:04 PM
What pissed me off also is all these Taliban notes keeping children out of schools. With new us policies to keep fighting out of towns who's to stop the Taliban from just dwelling in all these villages and using them as safezones.

R.I.p to the fallen soldiers and thanks to Germany for it's involvement.

nastyleg
06-24-2009, 05:17 PM
Rest In Peace..
Hope that the Luftwaffa will drop some munitions on their jawa heads. May the the families of all the fallen soliers sailors and marines find some peace.