Two Finnish soldiers injured in Afghanistan bomb attack flown home

Two others with less severe injuries remain in Afghanistan

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Two Finnish soldiers, who were injured in a bomb attack in the north of Afghanistan on Saturday, were flown home to Finland on Sunday.
      The Defence Forces reported that they were taken in an ambulance plane to Finland for further treatment.
      The soldiers were reported to be in stable condition.
     
The peacekeepers were on patrol on Saturday when the vehicle that they were in hit an improvised explosive device.
      On Saturday afternoon, another group of Finns were the target of a second bomb attack, just 2.5 kilometres from the first one, but nobody was injured.
      A Finnish doctor who treated the soldiers told the Defence Forces on Saturday that one of them has a fracture in his spine, and the other has several fractures in his legs. Before their evacuation to Finland, the men - and two others who sustained only minor injuries - were cared for at a German field hospital in Afghanistan.
     
The Defence Forces say that Finnish soldiers in Afghanistan have been targets of about ten attacks this year. This was the first this year in which there had been any injuries.
      Those who were targeted in the second attack returned to their base at Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday.
     
Finnish Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) said that he considers Saturday’s attacks as a serious matter.
      “We have invested in armoured vehicles, and the equipment had a significant role in surviving the attacks on Saturday”, Häkämies said. Häkämies commented that the continuity of the Finnish involvement in Afghanistan would be assessed this autumn.
      “At the moment I do not see that there would be preconditions for any new policies”, Häkämies said.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish forces take fire again in Afghanistan (5.8.2009)
  "Amber light is on" for future of Finland’s ISAF presence in Afghanistan (2.10.2009)
  Younger Finns most eager supporters of Finnish peace-keeping operation in Afghanistan (30.9.2009)
  Defence Minister Häkämies addresses concerns of family members of Afghan peacekeepers (17.8.2009)

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