Thu, Feb 09 2012

Bulgaria to send a 200 strong infantry reinforcement to Afghanistan

Wed, Aug 18 2010 10:32 CET

byThe Sofia Echo staff

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Bulgaria to send a 200 strong infantry reinforcement to Afghanistan

Photo: Stoyan Nenov

Elements of the Third Vratsa Regiment are preparing for deployment in Afghanistan. The official ceremony was held on August 18 at Hristo Botev Square at 9.30am, the Defence Ministry said in a media statement.

The regiment will be led by Captain Nikolai Nikolov. The 200-strong infantry reinforcement will be sent to Kabul where they will be tasked with guarding the airport, the media statement said. They will reinforce the nearly 600-strong Bulgarian detachment already deployed in Afghanistan.

Two weeks ago, elements of the Bulgarian Army were involved in a fire-fight with insurgents in Kandahar.

A combined infantry and rocket attack occurred on August 3 at 9.45am Bulgarian time, but the Bulgarian troops repelled the attack with assistance from their allies.

There were no Bulgarian casualties in the incident and the damage incurred was reported as "minimal".

Approximately 300 Bulgarian troops are guarding the perimeter of the Kandahar airport, which is a region known as a Taliban stronghold.

Bulgaria’s Defence Minister Anyu Angelov said, at the beginning of August, that the country would change the objectives of the Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan, and instead of guarding and protection units, it would instead deploy a 700-strong combat regiment by the end of 2012, Bulgarian media reported.

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