BERLIN, March 6: Three Danish and two German soldiers were killed on Wednesday when munitions they were defusing in Kabul accidentally exploded.

The chief of the German armed forces, Harald Kujat, said the “very tragic accident” occurred when Russian-type SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles went off prematurely during explosives clean-up work in the Afghan capital.

Seven other soldiers assisting in the operation were injured, three of them severely, and were taken to a German military hospital. The injured included at least two Danes.

Kujat said it was not immediately clear why the munitions, which had been taken to a demolition range near the German base in eastern Kabul, had detonated while the soldiers were still nearby.

He said preliminary findings did not indicate any violation of security guidelines.

Kujat vehemently dismissed suggestions by reporters that the soldiers had been poorly equipped or prepared for the operation.

“The soldiers are well trained,” he said. “But accidents happen.”

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he was “deeply saddened” by the casualties, but said that the incident would not cause Germany to question its participation in the security force in Afghanistan.

In Copenhagen, Danish Defence Minister Svend Aage Jensby expressed “deep sympathy to the families and loved ones of the victims, as well as their colleagues in the region”.

Kujat said German Defence Secretary Rudolf Scharping would immediately end a trip to the Horn of Africa state of Djibouti, where he is reviewing German naval units deployed there as part of the international fight against terrorism, and return to Berlin..—AFP