Croatia Says One Soldier Killed, Two Injured In Afghanistan Attack

This is the first Croatian fatality in Afghanistan since the country's soldiers were deployed there in 2003. (file photo)

A Croatian soldier was killed and two were seriously wounded in Afghanistan in a suicide attack on their convoy outside Kabul on July 24, Croatia's Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic told a news conference in Zagreb.

The soldiers were en route to Kabul airport when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle slammed into one of their vehicles, Krsticevic said.

It was the first fatality suffered by the Croatian military since it began deploying troops to Afghanistan in 2003. Croatia, which became a NATO member in 2009, currently has a 99-strong contingent in Afghanistan.

Croatian General Kresimir Tuskan said the troops had been working as part of a British-led special operations advisory group.

The Taliban has claimed the attack.

About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of the U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP