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Swedish soldiers 'unstable' after Afghanistan explosion

Published: 12 Nov 09 16:14 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/23234/20091112/

The conditions of two of the soldiers injured in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan on Wednesday are reported to have deteriorated overnight.

In a statement, he Swedish Armed Forces revealed that a 22-year-old stationed in the Torne Valley and a 30 years old from Luleå, both in northern Sweden, are in an unstable condition.

Head of press Torbjörn F. Gustafsson was unable to confirm whether their injuries are life-threatening.

“Doctors say their situation is unstable,” he told news agency TT.

“Unstable means that they have become worse.”

Two aircraft with medical personnel have been dispatched to bring home four of the five Swedish soldiers involved in the incident and fly them directly to Uppsala University Hospital.

“The goal is to get them home as quickly as possible,” said Bertil Starfelt, staff doctor at Sweden’s military headquarters.

“At the moment we cannot confirm which of the soldiers will be transported first,” he added.

“That decision will be taken after a medical assessment in Afghanistan.”

In total around 500 Swedish soldiers have been deployed to Afghanistan. After the incident took place the military followed routine procedures for responding to the situation.

“Talks and a debriefing were held throughout the whole battalion,” Gustafsson said.

The soldiers were on patrol at around 10am Swedish time on Wednesday when they hit a roadside bomb west of Mazar-e-Sharif, where Swedish troops are stationed.

The explosion also claimed the life of a local foreign language interpreter.

TT/Christine Demsteader (news@thelocal.se)

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17:48 November 12, 2009 by Nemesis
I hope the soldiers get better soon and have a full recovery.

Hopefully the soldiers will be in Uppsala soon, where they will get world class health care with some of the best doctors in the world.
19:04 November 12, 2009 by Social Hypocrisy
Uppsala is definately underated on the international university legue tables, which is a shame. Sweden has a great health care system which is not tired and overstretched like it is in the u.k. Most doctors there end up on the bottle through stress.
22:25 November 12, 2009 by Trowbridge H. Ford
Why all this apparent obfuscation about what happened to these five Swedish soldiers?

They are either dead, dying, or permanently severely damaged, given what seems to have happened to their armored vehicle.

Why aren't we told the truth rather than given bits and pieces which only serve the interests of those who want to greatly increase the NATO presence in Afghanistan?
00:04 November 13, 2009 by Malmoman
#3...

Just turn on any TV station and you can see the news of the scores of dead coming home everyday in the States. CNN...CNBC even FOX love to show the failing war effort.

TV4 has Idol news and how great Sweden is on latest UN rankings....
10:38 November 13, 2009 by arslan11
Swedes should thank US that they are placed in safest and most peaceful region of Afghanistan.. It is US and UK forces who are involved in real combat operation in Western Afghanistan..
10:44 November 13, 2009 by Kevtravels
@arslan. True. US, UK, Canada and to a lesser but albeit great effect Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Romania, France and Poland are in constant combat in the southern/eastern provinces. The North and West are dangerous and spiraling but they are East London compared to the South's East LA if you catch my drift.
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