Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

AFGHANISTAN

Swedish soldier injured in Afghanistan

A Swedish soldier was injured neary Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan on Saturday morning. The Swedish troop was on a routine mission together with Afghan security forces, when they were fired upon north of the village Chimtal.

Published: 13 August 2011 12:59 CEST

The Swedish soldier, from Norrbotten in northern Sweden, was injured in one leg, and was taken to a German field hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif.

“Swedish medical resources began the initial care on the injured soldier on the spot, as a medical helicopter was called in from Isaf, the international security force Swedish troops act under, to transport the injured to Mazar-e-Sharif,” wrote the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) in a statement.

The soldier’s condition isn’t life threatening, but he will be brought home to Sweden for continued care, reported the Armed Forces.

As well as the Swedish soldier, one Afghan police officer was injured in the shooting, but it is still unclear how severely.

Soldiers immediately returned fire upon being attacked, and back up in the form of fighter jets were called in.

“These never needed to open fire,” reported the Armed Forces, however.

Last Wednesday, another Swedish soldier was injured in Afghanistan, but this injury did not occur in battle. The soldier was burning garbage when the flames from the fire sparked up, injuring the side of his body and his face.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

AFGHANISTAN

Spain starts evacuating Afghan employees via Pakistan

Spain was on Monday evacuating via Pakistan Afghan helpers left behind when western forces quit Kabul, a government source confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Published: 11 October 2021 15:58 CEST
A group of Afghan nationals stand on the tarmac after disembarking from the last Spanish evacuation flight at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid in August. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)
A group of Afghan nationals stand on the tarmac after disembarking from the last Spanish evacuation flight at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid in August. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)

The government source declined to give any details of the move, citing security concerns.

But Spanish media, including daily El País and National Radio, reported that Madrid would bring close to 250 Afghan citizens, who had already crossed into Pakistan and would be flown out on military transport planes.

The first flight was expected to arrive on Monday evening.

Spain’s evacuations have been weeks in the making, with Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares visiting Pakistan and Qatar in early September to lay the groundwork.

Madrid evacuated over 2,000 people, most of them Afghans who had worked for Spain and their families, during the western withdrawal as the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August.

But the flights had to stop once the final American troops that had been protecting the Afghan capital’s airport left.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in August that Spain would not “lose interest in the Afghans who had remained” in their country but wanted to leave.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on Friday urged the bloc’s member states to host a “minimum” of between 10,000 and 20,000 more Afghan refugees.

“To welcome them, we have to evacuate them, and we’re getting down to it, but it’s not easy,” he said in Madrid.

The EU has said a demand by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to take in 42,500 Afghan refugees over five years can be achieved — although any decision lies with member states.

SHOW COMMENTS