Romanian troops are seen in this file photo in Afghanistan.
A Romanian soldier with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has died of injuries sustained in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan, Romania’s Defense Ministry says.
The ministry said in a statement that the 25-year-old soldier died in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Wednesday.
It said that Ion-Lucian Leustean was severely wounded by a bomb attack in Afghanistan’s southern province of Zabul in September 2011.
The new death brings the number of Romanian soldiers killed in the Afghan war to 20.
About 1,773 Romanian troops have been stationed in Afghanistan.
At least 149 foreign soldiers, most of them Americans, have lost their lives so far this year in Afghanistan, according to a tally kept by the icasualties.org website.
The increasing number of military casualties in Afghanistan has caused widespread anger in the US and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the Afghan war.
DB/GHN/MA
