KABUL: A Romanian soldier was killed in a Taliban claimed suicide attack on a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan that also wounded two others, officials said Saturday.
The assailant drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the foreign patrol as they drove through Daman district in Kandahar province on Friday.
All three casualties were Romanian soldiers, NATO’s Resolute Support train and assist mission said in a statement.
General John Nicholson, who heads up US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, condemned the attack and said it was further evidence the Taliban “are not interested in peace.”
“This loss only continues to strengthen our resolve and support to the Afghan government and its citizens as we work toward a secure and stable Afghanistan,” Nicholson said.
In a WhatsApp message sent to journalists on Friday Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said “seven invading forces” were killed in the attack. The militants routinely exaggerate battlefield claims.
The Taliban’s latest assault follows the group’s pledge to turn Afghanistan into a “graveyard” for foreign forces after US President Donald Trump’s announcement last month to keep American boots on the ground indefinitely.
Earlier this month two Taliban suicide bombers launched separate attacks around Bagram Airfield, America’s largest base in the country, that wounded several US soldiers and civilians.
Romanian soldier killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan: NATO
Romanian soldier killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan: NATO
France’s Macron accepts resignation of Louvre museum chief after jewel theft
- Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102m
- Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation on Tuesday of the head of Paris’ Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Laurence des Cars tendered her resignation, which Macron accepted, “praising an act of responsibility at a time when the world’s largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully carry out major projects involving security and modernization,” his office said.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world’s most-visited museum.
Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures and added to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors’ office have questioned the museum’s low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which is open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic relaunch projects.
