German soldiers injured in bomb attack

KABUL, Afghanistan – A remote-controlled bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying German soldiers in northern Afghanistan, injuring three of them, NATO said Saturday.

The homemade bomb damaged one of the two military vehicles carrying soldiers on patrol near Kunduz on Friday evening, a military statement said. The casualties were treated for hearing difficulties at a military camp in Kunduz, it said.

The Germans are part of the NATO-run International Security Assistance Force, which patrols most of northern Afghanistan, as well as the capital Kabul, with 8,500 troops.

Spokesman Lt. Cdr. Ken Mackillop, a Canadian, said a pamphlet found near the scene threatened a “number of groups” without mentioning ISAF.

Foreign troops regularly come under attack in Afghanistan, particularly the separate 18,000-strong American force pursuing Taliban and al Qaeda holdouts. A homemade bomb killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded another in southern Uruzgan province on Wednesday.