Two German soldiers, five Afghans die in Afghanistan explosion
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-27 09:07

Two German soldiers serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and five Afghans were killed when a stock of munitions exploded accidentally in northern Afghanistan, officials said.

"Two German ISAF soldiers and five Afghans were killed yesterday in northeastern Takhar province of Afghanistan in an explosion caused by an electrical spark in a truck full of ammunition," said General Mutalib Bek, police chief of the northern province of Kunduz which borders Takhar.

The blast occurred late Saturday at Rustaq, 120 kilometres (74 miles) northeast of Kunduz.

"Two ISAF soldiers who are missing as a result of the large explosion in Rustaq last night are now presumed dead," an ISAF statement said earlier.

President Hamid Karzai said he was "saddened by the news" of the blast, a statement from Karzai's office said.

The dead soldiers were part of an ISAF contingent observing ammunition-sorting operations near the airfield at Rustaq, ISAF said.

A spokesman for the German contingent said in Germany that an Afghan translator and another German army soldier were wounded during the incident, in which two trucks transporting ammunition exploded.

They would be flown to Germany later Sunday or on Monday for treatment, German military officials said.

The German detachment has a provincial reconstruction team stationed in Kunduz, providing security and helping to rebuild the impoverished country. The collection and destruction of weapons is one of their tasks.

In January two German soldiers were wounded in a similar accidental explosion in the province.

In March 2002 three Danish and two German soldiers were killed in Kabul during another accidental explosion.

Germany, with about 2,000 troops, is the biggest single contributor to ISAF, which has a total of 8,300 soldiers from 37 countries.

The provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), started by the American forces in 2003, combine humanitarian and military activities. Of about 20 PRTs in Afghanistan, five are under ISAF control and the rest are run by the US-led coalition.

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