By IRNA,
Berlin : At least four German soldiers have been killed and an unidentified number of them have been severely wounded in an insurgent ambush in northern Afghanistan, German media said on Thursday.
The deadly assault on the military convoy, comprised of German, Belgian and Afghan soldiers, took place near the town of Baghlan on 2:30 pm local Afghan time.
The German patrol was reportedly attacked with rocket propelled grenades and at least one German military vehicle suffered a direct hit.
The attack coincided with the Afghanistan visit of German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the media said.
Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels have intensified their raids on German troops in Kunduz province in recent weeks.
On April 2, three German soldiers on a mine-clearing mission were killed in a
Taliban ambush.
Some 43 German troops have died so far since the start of the controversial western
military mission in the war-stricken country in late 2001.
The surge in the number of German military deaths in Afghanistan is also expected to spark a heated political debate in Berlin on an early withdrawal from the country.