Rocket strike at Afghan base wounds 8 NATO troops

[January 25, 2010]  KABUL (AP) -- A rocket strike at the major international military base in southern Afghanistan wounded eight foreign service members -- four Bulgarians and four Romanians -- NATO said Monday.

The rocket hit inside Kandahar Air Field on Sunday evening, said Flight Lt. Wendy Wheadon, a spokeswoman for the international force.

The attack occurred as Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Mladenov visited 270 Bulgarian troops who guard the inner zone of the Kandahar airport, the ministry said. Mladenov was about 400 yards (meters) from where the rocket hit and was not hurt.

The base was hit by rockets before, though rarely with enough precision to wound people. Wheadon said the last time a rocket struck inside the base was early December when no one was hurt.

Three wounded Bulgarians were transported to Germany for further treatment, while the fourth was released Sunday, according to the country's Defense Ministry.

In Bucharest, the Defense Ministry confirmed two of its soldiers were hurt in the attack. One left the military hospital Monday and the other was in stable condition, it said. It was not immediately clear why NATO and Romania had conflicting numbers of wounded troops.

[Associated Press]

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