Afghan blast kills Danish troops

Three Danish soldiers were killed and one wounded in Afghanistan when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb or mine, Danish military officials said.

Their vehicle was travelling in a supply convoy near the town of Gereshk in southern Helmand province.

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was the single biggest loss for the Danish mission in Afghanistan.

Denmark has about 700 soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Twenty-one have been killed since the mission began in 2002.

In a separate incident, a soldier from the Netherlands was killed when he stepped on a mine during a firefight with the Taleban in Uruzgan province, also in the south of Afghanistan.

Eighteen Dutch soldiers have been killed since the country sent a force to join Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in 2006.

South-eastern Afghanistan has been the scene of heavy fighting since the Taleban insurgency gained momentum several years ago.