Georgian patrol discovers buried chemicals in Afghanistan

Buried chemical explosives used in past conflicts have been discovered by Georgian soldiers near a heavily-populated German military base in northern Afghanistan.

The Georgian soldiers, serving under German command as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, noticed the suspicious materials during their 12-hour patrol around Camp Marmal yesterday. They notified a group of expert engineers who then cleared the site of potential danger.

Camp Marmal is the largest base of the German Armed Forces outside of Germany. It is adjacent to the Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountains.

The aim of the patrol was to protect the camp, restrict free movement of the opponent and ensure security and safety of local residents.

A reconnaissance company of about 170 soldiers from the fourth mechanised brigade of the Georgian Armed Forces have been in Afghanistan since December 2014. The servicemen have assumed the task of Rapid Reaction Force at the German Army’s Camp Marmal near Mazar-i-Sharif.

Georgia has committed about 750 troops to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile in July 2014 Georgian troops ended their four-year long deployment in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand.

From 2010 and April 2015, Georgia has lost 29 soldiers and 274 have been wounded in NATO peace missions in Afghanistan.

Click here to read a blog written for Agenda.ge by Senior Georgian NCO in ISAF Koba Oshkhereli about how he the New Year together with other servicemen Afghanistan.