Hungarians wounded in Afghanistan

Two Hungarian soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, when Taliban insurgents attacked their convoy with a grenade launcher in Kunduz, Baghlan province, northern Afghanistan Sunday morning. In the resultant exchange of fire one of the Pakistani assailants was killed and another was critically injured.

The soldiers were ambushed while returning from carrying out checks and controls about 80km from the Hungarian provincial reconstruction team's headquarters in Puli Kumri.

The shot hit the right hand window of the armoured car, wounding the driver and the platoon commander sitting next to him, Defence Ministry spokesman István Bocskai told an unscheduled press briefing on Sunday.

The soldiers were flown to Kunduz hospital by helicopter immediately. The severely wounded soldier was successfully operated on with no complications. The assumed assailants were detained and are undergoing questioning.

Hungarian troops were last attacked in Afghanistan on May 9, 2009, although no one was injured. The reconstruction team has been on duty in Baghlan since autumn 2006.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Imre Szekeres announced at a NATO conference that ended in Istanbul on Friday that Hungary will this year help to train soldiers of the Afghan helicopter air force. The Hungarian army also plans to send 40 reinforcements to monitor the parliamentary elections in the Asian country.

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