German Bundeswehr soldiers deployed in Afghanistan escaped injury recently when their convoy came under fire close to the country's capital Kabul, a spokesperson for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Sunday. The ambush happened Friday in the Sarobi district around 70 kilometres east of the city, the spokesperson said. German soldiers returned fire after the attack commenced. Sarobi police chief Sher Shah told news agency Pajhwok that the gunmen fled in the wake of the incident and were being sought by authorities, dpa reported. Germany currently has over 2,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the ISAF force, mainly engaged in anti-narcotics duties in Kabul and in the northern region of Kunduz. Berlin is understood to be drawing up plans to bring troop levels up to 3,000 as long as parliament approves the extension of the mission mandate, which expires October 13. Some 16 German soldiers have died since being deployed in Afghanistan in December 2001, the last two in a June munitions blast which officials say was most likely an accident. --SP 2233 Local Time 1933 GMT
