Five Western Occupation Soldiers Killed in Afghan Attack

 
Source: Al-Manar.com.lb, 2-5-2009

Three American and two Latvian soldiers were killed in an attack by militants in eastern Afghanistan Friday, U.S. occupation forces and Latvia's Defense Ministry said.

U.S. military spokeswoman Captain Elizabeth Mathias said insurgents attacked an outpost in the eastern sector with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades and struck an ammunition store, causing an explosion.

Latvia's Defense Ministry said the western soldiers were killed with three Afghan soldiers in the attack by Taliban fighters or other militants in eastern Afghanistan's Kumar region.

"The Latvian soldiers were on a mission to train the Afghan National Army," said Normunds Stafeckis, a spokesman for Latvia's Defense Ministry, adding several other soldiers were injured in the attack.

International and Afghan forces returned fire and called for support from the air, said U.S.'s Mathias, but gave no further details of the location of the incident. The eastern sector includes 14 provinces, some of which have seen major fighting. Latvia has around 160 soldiers in the NATO-led occupation force in Afghanistan.