Rockets attack German base in Afghanistan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-30 08:54

A rocket attack on a German-run peacekeeping team in northeastern Afghanistan has left four people injured, one seriously, a spokesman for the multinational security force in the country said.

The German-run provincial reconstruction team in Kunduz was hit at about 9:00 pm Wednesday (1630 GMT), said Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Poulain.

"One of the two rockets hit inside the base and the other fell outside," he said. "Four people have been injured, one seriously."

Two Germans were wounded in the attack, one of whom was seriously injured and was being treated at the site before being evacuated, Poulain added.

In Berlin, the defense ministry earlier said that two German troops and a Swiss soldier were injured in the attack.

A spokesman for the ministry could not give details about the injuries and told AFP that a search for the assailants was hampered by nightfall.

According to a statement from the multinational force received in Kabul, two 107-milimetre rockets were fired on the reconstruction team from a launch site about 750 metres (yards) north of the camp.

Security was stepped up around the camp, where 270 troops and about 30 civilians are stationed and an investigation opened into the incident.

With its 1,480 soldiers, Germany provides the bulk of troops within the NATO-run, 7,000-member International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The ISAF, which is supported by 30 countries, was set up by the United Nations in December 2001 to provide security after the overthrow of the Taliban by US army forces.

Some 400 German troops manage two "provincial reconstruction teams" at Kunduz and Faizabad, charged with improving security, fostering reconstruction work and boosting the influence of the central Kabul government in the provinces, many of which are controlled by local warlords.

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