Romanian soldier killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan: NATO

NATO soldiers keep watch near the wreckage of their vehicle at the site of a Taliban suicide attack in Kandahar. (AFP)

KABUL: A Romanian soldier was killed in a Taliban claimed suicide attack on a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan that also wounded two others, officials said Saturday.
The assailant drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the foreign patrol as they drove through Daman district in Kandahar province on Friday.
All three casualties were Romanian soldiers, NATO’s Resolute Support train and assist mission said in a statement.
General John Nicholson, who heads up US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, condemned the attack and said it was further evidence the Taliban “are not interested in peace.”
“This loss only continues to strengthen our resolve and support to the Afghan government and its citizens as we work toward a secure and stable Afghanistan,” Nicholson said.
In a WhatsApp message sent to journalists on Friday Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said “seven invading forces” were killed in the attack. The militants routinely exaggerate battlefield claims.
The Taliban’s latest assault follows the group’s pledge to turn Afghanistan into a “graveyard” for foreign forces after US President Donald Trump’s announcement last month to keep American boots on the ground indefinitely.
Earlier this month two Taliban suicide bombers launched separate attacks around Bagram Airfield, America’s largest base in the country, that wounded several US soldiers and civilians.