A suicide bomb killed three Czech soldiers on patrol in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, the deadliest assault on NATO troops for many months.
According to The New York Times, the bomber was young, about 18-years-old and the attack was claimed by the Taliban.
The repatriation of the remains of the killed soldiers will take place on Wednesday, and President Milos Zeman promised to attend the ceremony.
Defence Minister Lubomír Metnar said a staff sergeant and two corporals had died in the explosion. He said their deaths had touched him deeply and expressed condolences to their families.
PM Andrej Babiš along with many other politicians (for example Czech Prezident Milos Zeman or Chairman of the CSSD and Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek) paid tribute to the three Czech soldiers, hailing them as “heroes”. “I respect what they did for our country. I am sending my deepest condolences to their families,” he tweeted.
Thirteen Czech soldiers have been killed on duty in Afghanistan serving in NATO’s Resolute Support mission. There are some 250 Czech troops serving in the country at present.
