New Bulgarian Contingent with 13 Women Leaves for Afghanistan

A total of 165 rangers, including 13 women, departed Thursday from Bulgaria to Kabul, Afghanistan, to take part in the NATO ISAF mission. Photo by BGNES

A company of 165 rangers, including 13 women, is departing Thursday to Kabul, Afghanistan, to take part in the NATO ISAF mission.

The news was reported by the Bulgarian Defense Ministry.

This is the 21st Bulgarian contingent in Afghanistan. 90% of the staff has already participated in international missions. The Commander of the company is Captain Svetoslav Godinov from the military unit in the southern city of Stara Zagora.

The rangers will be sent off by an official ceremony in Stara Zagora in the presence of the Defense Head, Gen. Simeon Simeonov and the Commander of the Land Forces, Gen.-Major, Stefan Vasilev.

A total of 600 Bulgarian soldiers and medical staff are currently stationed in Afghanistan in Kabul and Kandahar.

The worst incident with Bulgarian soldiers in Afghanistan to date occurred in January 2010, when four Bulgarians were wounded in a Taliban rocket attack, with one of them subsequently losing his hand. The incident coincided with the visit to the base of then Bulgarian Defense Minister and now Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov.

In 2010, Bulgaria increased its Afghanistan contingent as part of the ISAF/NATO forces to 600 troops; half are stationed at the Kandahar airport.

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