TALLINN - The casualty rate of Estonian men in Afghanistan continued to rise as a soldier was injured by an explosive device on March 31. Although the wounds were described as serious they are not life threatening, military spokesmen said.
The soldier is undergoing medical care at Camp Bastion. His family has been informed about the situation.
It is not standard practice for military sources to release information about soldiers' identities. The head of the army's general staff information department, Maj. Peeter Tali, told BNS that the man has undergone an operation and will be flown back to Europe for more treatment.
Tali said the man was injured in a routine patrol by one of the typical roadside bombs that are prevalent in Afghanistan.
ESTCOY-5, Estonia's lone regiment serving in Afghanistan, continues operations in the Now Zad area of Helmand. There are currently around 120 soldiers serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO task force.
They are fighting an Islamic fundamentalist group known as the Taliban, which controlled Afghanistan between 1994 and 2001 but was driven out of power after the NATO invasion that followed the Sept. 11 attacks. The Taliban have since regrouped and now control large areas of the country.
Estonia joined NATO in 2003 and is obligated to send troops to Afghanistan because of the Washington Contract. This agreement says that an attack on one country is an attack on them all.
Since joining the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq a number of Estonian men have been killed or wounded. Another member of the Estonian defense forces was seriously injured in an explosion during an operation in Afghanistan's Helmand Province in mid-March. He was airlifted to the U.K. after surgery.
A total of 23 members of the Estonian defense forces have been injured and two more have been killed since 2003.
In June 2007, Sgt. Kalle Torn, 24, and Jako Karuks, 33, were killed in an enemy missile attack. In the same attack, four Estonian servicemen and nine other soldiers sustained injuries.
Estonia also has troops in Iraq, a conflict in which Estonia has participated in since the invasion began in 2003. Twenty-four soldiers have been wounded and two killed 's Sgt. Andres Nuiamae and Sgt. Maj. Arre Illenzeer.
Despite the high casualty rate considering the relatively small number of soldiers that Estonia has in both conflicts, there has been no discernible campaign to bring the troops home.
The 82 troops serving in Helmand province end their six month tour of duty in May.
