Failed bomb attack on Finnish base in Afghanistan
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The military base used by ISAF peacekeeping forces in Maimana in North-Western Afghanistan was the object of a failed bomb attack on Monday morning, according to reports from the region. The base houses Finnish troops and peacekeepers from Norway and Latvia.
The attempted bombing took place one day before Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Störe was scheduled to visit the base.
In spite of the incident, the minister intended to carry out his visit as planned today, according to Lt. Tuomas Kainulainen of the Finnish ISAF forces.
On Monday morning, the peacekeepers were alerted to a 150 mm artillery mortar shell placed against the outer wall of the compound.
It was wired up to a makeshift timer and alarm clock, and should apparently have exploded just before it was discovered.
A German bomb disposal team defused the device and made the area safe by the afternoon. The base's state of alert was temporarily raised and the area was cordoned off. Another German mine clearance unit also found a similar explosive device outside the residence of the local governor on Monday, and this, too, was successfully defused.
There was no immediate information on who might have set the bombs, but at least in the first instance it seems to have been directed specifically against the ISAF troops and was not part of local violence and score-settling.
There are currently around 200 soldiers housed in Maimana, all belonging to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Roughly 30 of them are from Finland.
Attempted attacks on the base have escalated in recent weeks. For example on Sunday a mortar round exploded outside the governor's residence. On January 10th a live artillery shell was found on the road used by ISAF troops between the base and the airport. It was hooked up to wires, indicating some rudimentary timing device.
An Afghan army base on the outskirts of Maimana was the target of two rocket attacks in December.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 16.1.2007 - TODAY |
 Failed bomb attack on Finnish base in Afghanistan
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