2 Lithuanian troops hurt in Afghanistan

Two Lithuanian soldiers have sustained serious injuries as a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire on them in Afghanistan’s central province of Ghor.

The soldiers serving under a provincial reconstruction team were buying some items at a shop in Chagcharan on Thursday — the capital of remote Ghor province located 220 miles (350 kilometers) west of Kabul — when they came under attack, Afghan Islamic Press reported.

“Both soldiers suffered severe injuries and were rushed to hospital. The owner of shop was also wounded in the shoot-out,” Abdul Hayee Khatibi, spokesman of Ghor governor, said.

There are reports that a soldier was killed and another wounded in the incident.

Afghan police have launched a hunt for the assailants involved in the attack.

Lithuania, the southernmost Baltic state, has a 245-strong contingent in the war-battered Afghanistan. It has lost one soldier in Afghan war during a Taliban attack on May 22, 2008 in Ghor province.