Kabul - A German soldier was killed Wednesday in a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan while three others were injured. The German Defence Ministry in Berlin confirmed the casualties, calling the attack "cowardly and underhanded."
Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung acknowledged a deteriorating security situation in northern Afghanistan, where German forces are leading reconstruction operations.
A remote-controlled bomb was used to attack an armoured vehicle of the German army in the district of Chardara in Kunduz province, Governor Engineer Mohammed Omar said earlier.
He blamed Taliban militants and the al-Qaeda terrorist network for the attack.
The wounded soldiers were treated by medics from their unit before being transported to the largest German base in the country in Mazar-e Sharif.
Three weeks ago, three German soldiers were injured in a similar attack in a neighbouring province, for which Taliban militants claimed responsibility.
In May 2007, three German soldiers and eight civilians were killed in an attack in Kunduz, making it the worst strike on Germans serving as part of international forces in Afghanistan.
Germany's government is to decide in early October on extending the army's mandate in Afghanistan as security has worsened with the increase of roadside bombings.
Parliament is to be asked to consider a proposal to increase the maximum deployment from 3,000 troops to 4,500.
Aid organizations said more than 3,000 people have been killed this year in Afghanistan, about 1,000 of them civilians.
