Finnish soldier killed in Afghanistan blast: military

HELSINKI: An explosion killed a Finnish soldier in the northern Afghan province of Samangan on Tuesday, the military said.

"The peacekeepers were on the way to the shooting range when the explosion occurred," the military said in a statement.

"The explosion caused the peacekeepers' vehicle to roll over, killing Senior Lieutenant Jukka Kansonen," the statement added, without specifying whether the blast was caused by a roadside bomb or another type of device.

The explosion occurred near the city of Aybak.

Kansonen is only the second Finnish soldier to die in Afghanistan since the Nordic country began taking part in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the war-torn country in 2002.

The first soldier died in a roadside bomb explosion in 2007.

"I offer my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the peacekeeper who was killed in the line of duty," Finnish President Tarja Halonen said in a statement.

Kansonen's next of kin had been informed and preparations were underway to bring the body back to Finland for burial, the military said.

Finland has around 180 soldiers in Afghanistan, mostly in an ISAF base in the north, near the city of Mazar-e-Sharif.