KABUL– Flags of member nations in an international security force in Kabul flew at half mast last Thursday after three Danish and two German soldiers died when two Soviet-era missiles exploded while they were preparing them for destruction. The tragedy cast a pall over the nearly 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in which 1,250 Germans and 10 Danes are serving.

Brigadier-General Carl Hubertus von Butler, commander of the security force‘s German contingent, has said eight German and Danish soldiers were also wounded, three seriously, in the „tragic accident“ at dusk on Wednesday on the outskirts of Kabul. At first light on Thursday, ISAF investigators were already at the scene, an isolated, desert-like field just 2 km from where the soldiers were based. The area was regularly used to destroy abandoned weapons and ammunition collected by ISAF troops on their patrols of Kabul.

A German officer has told Reuters the accident happened when the soldiers were setting up charges to blow up the two surface-to-air missiles. In Berlin, German army chief Harald Kujat has said the exact cause of the accident was unknown. „The detonation seems to have gone off early…even though all procedures had been followed,“ Kujat said. The incident comes as Germany appeared to be gearing up to take a leadership role in the Kabul mission, although it has made clear it will not take over control when Britain steps down in June after its six-month stint leading the force.

ISAF is under pressure from Afghanistan‘s interim government to increase its numbers and expand operations outside Kabul. General Butler said among issues to be investigated was why there were so many casualties. He stressed it was not necessarily unusual for so many soldiers to be involved in the destruction of a missile.

Reuters