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Three servicemen killed in Afghanistan in the line of duty

Three servicemen of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion have been killed in Afghanistan in the line of duty

TBILISI, February 22 (Itar-Tass) — Three Georgian servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan “in the line of duty”, the Defence Ministry reported on Wednesday.

The ministry said, “Three servicemen of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion – Corporals Valiko Beraya, Ruslan Meladze and Paata Kacharava – have been killed in Afghanistan in the line of duty.” “Georgian peacekeepers died as a result of the explosion of a war vehicle during the clashes with units of the Taleban movement,” the ministry said.

“The peacekeepers served in an expanded Georgian battalion in the province of Helmand under the U.S. command,” the ministry said.

The Georgian contingent has been in Afghanistan since November 2009 when 175 people were sent to Kabul. Since April 2010 the number of the Georgian contingent includes 925 servicemen. A total of 750 peacekeepers serve in an expanded battalion under the U.S. command.

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