MADRID - A Spanish bomb disposal expert died Friday in an explosion in Afghanistan, Spain’s defence ministry said. Sergeant David Fernandez, 35, was killed by an improvised explosive device while on a reconnaissance mission, it said in a statement. The device was found on a road linking Qala-i-Naw and Darra-i-Bun in Badghis province in northwestern Afghanistan. Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria thanked “all members of the armed forces for their work for peace and stability in the world”, at a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting.
Spain has lost 100 soldiers in Afghanistan since deploying troops there in 2002. The number of Spanish troops serving in Afghanistan as part of the Nato-led Isaf stands at around 1,400. All Nato combat forces are due to leave the country by the end of 2014.