Son of Dutch military chief killed

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Saturday, 19 April 2008

REUTERS, AMSTERDAM - The son of the new head of the Dutch military and another Dutch soldier serving with NATO-led forces in Afghanistan were killed on Friday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

The Dutch Defence Ministry said in a statement there were no indications that the attack was specifically targeted at the 23-year-old son of chief of joint staffs Peter van Uhm, who took over command of the Dutch military on Thursday.

It said two other soldiers were also wounded in the attack north of the Dutch base in the southern province of Uruzgan, one of them critically. The blast came as the troops were returning to their base from a major operation that ended on Thursday.

The deaths bring the total number of Dutch soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 16.

Violence has surged in Afghanistan in the past two years, with some 6,000 people killed in 2007, the deadliest year since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001.

More than 200 foreign troops were killed there in 2007

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