KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, May 22 (UPI) -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited his country's troops in Afghanistan after three German soldiers were killed there over the weekend.
"Terror threatens us everywhere and there is no absolute protection against terrorist attacks; this we had to learn in a very painful way," Steinmeier said in Kunduz.
Ten German Bundeswehr soldiers, a translator and a local police officer had gone to the market Saturday to buy refrigerators for their camp. A suicide bomber waited until the men had left their armored Dingo vehicle before he ignited his explosives.
Three soldiers died on the spot, and five were injured. Five civilians were killed, and another 16 injured.
Both Steinmeier and his boss, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Tuesday vowed to continue the mission in Afghanistan, despite calls from the far-left German opposition to bring the troops home.
Meanwhile, the German Defense Ministry said in a statement that it will hold a burial for the killed soldiers Wednesday evening at a military airport near Cologne. German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung will be present.
Germany has more than 3,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, operating largely in the north of the country, as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
Steinmeier will travel on to Pakistan, where he is to meet with President Pervez Musharraf and other government officials Wednesday.
