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Polish soldier missing, five Afghans killed in attack
Ghazni, Afghanistan (AFP) Aug 11, 2009 Afghan authorities said an insurgent attack on a military convoy Monday had killed at least five Afghan security personnel while the Polish army said one of its soldiers was missing. The attack in the central province of Ghazni comes amid a spike in insurgent violence that authorities fear could stop Afghans from casting their ballots in August 20 presidential and provincial council elections. Afghan police had said Polish soldiers were among the casualties but this was not confirmed by international authorities until a Polish army spokesman said in Warsaw one of the country's soldiers was missing and four were injured. "The lives of the four Polish soldiers injured in the exchange of fire are not in danger," Miroslaw Ochyla told AFP, adding that a search operation had been launched for the missing troop. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) under which about 2,000 Polish soldiers serve would not comment, saying it was still investigating. A US soldier was captured by Taliban in eastern Afghanistan on June 30. Afghan defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP that three Afghan army soldiers and two policemen were killed in the Ghazni attack. A senior provincial police official, who could not be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, issued a higher toll of six soldiers and five policemen killed. He said Polish troops had also suffered casualties. ISAF draws together around 64,500 soldiers from more than 40 nations. More than 250 Western troops have lost their lives in Afghanistan this year, most of them in attacks. A suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of Belgian troops in the northern province of Kunduz earlier Monday, causing some damage but no casualties, the NATO force said. The insurgents have increased attacks on government and foreign forces' targets in recent months, raising concerns for the security for presidential and provincial council elections due on August 20. Poland, a former communist country turned staunch ally of Washington, joined NATO in 1999. Warsaw first sent troops to Afghanistan in 2002 after the US-led overthrow of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime there. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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