By Adrien Taylor
The confirmation this morning of the deaths of three more New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan comes after two others - Lance Corporals Pralli Durrer and Rory Malone - were killed just two weeks ago.
Lance Corporals Durrer and Malone's bodies were repatriated to New Zealand just under two weeks ago after they were killed in the Bamiyan province by an attack which the Taleban have since claimed responsibility for.
Their deaths came exactly two years to the day since the first New Zealand soldier died in the same area.
The total number of New Zealanders who have lost their lives in Afghanistan now stands at 10.
They include two elite SAS troops and three other soldiers who were also killed while on a peace-keeping mission in the Bamiyan province.
Bamiyan is in central Afghanistan, about 100 km west of the capital, Kabul. It's considered one of the most peaceful and beautiful provinces in Afghanistan and there are hopes that tourism will return to the area as it rebuilds.
New Zealander soldiers there are part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team. Their mission is to provide security in the region, train the Afghan army and police and provide assistance to the UN teams in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan has claimed thousands of casualties since it was
launched under the name Operation Enduring Freedom by the United
States soon after the September 11 World Trade Centre attacks in 2001.
There have been about 3,000 coalition deaths over the 11 year
war, but the United Nations says roughly the same number of Afghan
civilians that have been killed or injured in just the past six months.
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