Gunshots Hurt 2 ISAF Soldiers, 1 Civilian in W. Afghanistan

Two ISAF troops and one civilian were hurt after an armed man targeted them with small arms fire in western Ghour province on Thursday, provincial officials say

"A man with a weapon attacked Lithuanian soldiers working under ISAF's Provincial Reconstruction Team early at eleven am today and two of them were wounded in the incident," a provincial spokesperson, Abdul Hai Khatibi, told TOLOnews reporter.

While the two soldiers were busy shopping in Cheghcheran, provincial capital, they came under attack, Mr Khatibi said.

A shopkeeper was also hurt in the incident and one of the wounded soldiers is said to be in severe condition.

Provincial officials said the attacker has managed to flee the area.

Lithuania is one of the troop contributing countries to ISAF mission in Afghanistan and with the death of one Lithuanian soldier since 2007 in the Afghan insurgency; it has the least fatalities among other nations involved in the war.

Lithuania has Around 245 soldiers in Afghanistan with most of them stationed in western Ghour province.

A total of 532 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year and as the foreign forces' commanders had expected, 2010 turned out to be the deadliest year since the Taliban regime was overthrown by a US-led invasion in 2001.