KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 3, 2006 Five coalition servicemembers were injured today in a suspected improvised explosive device attack east of here.
Officials did not release the nationalities of the servicemembers. The troops, assigned to the coalition's Multinational Brigade South, were traveling in an armored vehicle to the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team site at about 10:30 a.m. when the attack occurred. They all received on-scene medical care and were evacuated to the military hospital at Kandahar Airfield for further treatment. One servicemember was listed in serious but stable condition. Information on the condition of the other four servicemembers was not available. A reaction force from Kandahar Airfield, joined by Afghan National Army soldiers, secured the site. The attack will not deter Afghan and coalition forces from combat patrols and reconstruction efforts to set the conditions for a stable, democratic society, U.S. Army Col. Jim Yonts, a coalition spokesman, said. "We're working with our international partners to remove the causes that enabled terrorism to take root in Afghanistan," he said. "Events such as these only solidify our resolve to eradicate terrorism now." (From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)
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