Danish officer dies in Afghanistan (Roundup)

Oct 16, 2007, 12:00 GMT

Copenhagen - A Danish officer in Afghanistan died on Tuesday of injuries sustained in an attack the previous day, the Danish Army Operational Command said in a statement.

Major Anders Storrud, 34, was flown Monday by helicopter to a field hospital at Camp Bastion for treatment, where he later died, the statement said.

Storrud was head of a mechanised infantry division serving in Helmand province.

He was injured while leading a group of soldiers who were towing an armoured personnel carrier that had been damaged by a mine during manoeuvres in the Upper Geresk Valley.

Mortars were likely used in the attack on the Danish forces, the Army Operational Command said.

Both Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Defence Minister Soren Gade issued statements offering their condolences to Storrud's family and colleagues, but said Denmark aimed to remain in Afghanistan.

Rasmussen said the Danish contingent was conducting 'a crucial and brave mission to improve the security and the lives of the local people in Afghanistan.'

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the opposition Social Democrats, lauded the Danish contribution, adding that 'we should not allow the Taliban to stop the democratic development in Afghanistan.'

Last month two Danish soldiers were killed in the same region during an ongoing offensive against Taliban forces, and in May a Danish soldier was killed in a firefight in Helmand province.

In 2002, three Danish soldiers were killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan.

Storrud also served in 2004 with Danish forces in Iraq.

Denmark was by November due to have 560 troops in Afghanistan, mainly in Helmand.