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Swedes kill three in Afghanistan fire fight

Published: 24 Jul 09 08:30 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/20880/20090724/

Swedish military forces were involved in a battle in Aqchah in northern Afghanistan on Thursday night. No Swedish soldiers have been reported injured.

The battle began around 6.30pm on Thursday night when opposition groups ambushed the Swedish troops.

The Swedes were in armoured wheeled vehicles and later received reinforcements from several soldiers in a Combat Vehicle 90.

“The firefights were intermittant during the evening and night,” Veronica Sandström, press officer for the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten), told the TT news agency.

The Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reported Friday that three members of the attacking troops were killed and an additional two injured.

Aqchah is approximately 40 kilometres west of Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in northern Afghanistan and the base for the Swedish force led by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

ISAF is a NATO-led security and development mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council in 2001. The base is home to Swedish and Finnish peacekeeping forces.

DN reported the attack came in the wake of several other incursions in the region.

“We have had three incidents within a month and it is more than usual. The violence in Afghanistan has ramped up due to the elections on August 20th,” Regnér told DN.

The exact number of Swedish soldiers involved in the battle remains unknown, but 40 to 50 Swedish military personnel are stationed in Aqchah.

In Afghanistan, there are a total of approximately 400 Swedish military personnel, according to the Armed Forces.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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11:27 July 24, 2009 by conboy
Fair play to the soldiers involved!
12:14 July 24, 2009 by double concerto
Yes, Afghanistan today, Sweden and the rest of Europe tomorrow!!! It's time that the European nations used a little bit of joined up thinking. The EU countries between them have been taking in millions of potential muslim zealots and in a short time will have a nightmare situation of their own making on their hands.
12:52 July 24, 2009 by Nemesis
It reads like the soldiers handled themselves well.
17:43 July 24, 2009 by GefleFrequentFlyer
I'll tip my hat to a Swede fighting in battle.
10:05 July 25, 2009 by Ex_New_Yorker
"The Swedes were in armoured wheeled vehicles and later received reinforcements from several soldiers in a Combat Vehicle 90."

When will Europeans realize that shooting other men from armoured vehicles is far from manly, honourable, and fair.

Paper tigers
20:16 July 25, 2009 by eZee.se
"When will Europeans realize that shooting other men from armoured vehicles is far from manly, honourable, and fair."

When some people realize blowing up innocents in markets or killing innocents in tall buildings using planes a (bomb) delivery methods is extremely far from manly, honorable or fair and other than being lunacy will probably take you to hell rather than "the promised land"
16:04 July 26, 2009 by DreEstwd
@ Eyewitness- I love it when the Arabs talk about "fighting with honor." Yet these are the same people who blow up innocent civilians, hide in and shoot from mosques, use their own civilians as human shields, attach suicide bombs to dogs or unsuspecting children, etc. etc. etc. My personal favorite is when they claim racism here in Sweden but if a Westerner went to one of their countries he/she would be kidnapped and beheaded. An entire race of hypocrites.
20:45 October 2, 2009 by spy
Ex_New_Yorker

What are you talking about you looney?? War is about concentrating force to overcome your enemy - it's not about trying to evenly match your opponent - when that happens it is called attrition which is slow and costly in terms of money and human casualties plus it means that there is no outcome and therefore pointless like you.
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