Two Swedish soldiers were seriously injured in a blast in northern Afghanistan on Friday, the Swedish defence forces said in a statement carried by Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa). The two were part of a four-member patrol team that was attacked near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Defence forces spokesman Jan Jonsson said the blast was likely caused by a remote-controlled bomb that targeted their patrol vehicle, but there was no information about the motive for the attack. The defence forces said the soldiers were treated at the scene, then rushed to a German base before they were flown by medical helicopter to other locations with better medical facilities. A third member of the four-man team was understood to have sustained minor injuries, while the defence forces had no information about the fourth soldier's condition, Jonsson said. Jonsson said Afghan police had made six arrests after the incident. Sweden has contributed some 90 troops to the NATO-led ISAF force in Afghanistan. The Swedish contingent is mainly based in Mazar-i-Sharif, and is part of a British-led Provincial Reconstruction Team. --SP 2051 Local Time 1751 GMT
