Denmark loses first woman soldier in Afghanistan

Sophia Bruun, 22, is the first Danish woman soldier to die in active service in recent years

Army Private Sophia Bruun became the first Danish killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday when the Piranha personnel carrier she was travelling in was hit by an improvised explosive device close to Bridzar military post, located six kilometres north east of Gereskh in Helmand province.

According to the military, Bruun was killed instantly and two of her colleagues lightly wounded in the attack. The injured soldiers were transported to Camp Bastion, the main Danish base in Afghanistan, by helicopter. Bruun was manning the gun on the personnel carrier when the attack took place.

Four hours later, three more soldiers were wounded – one seriously – by a mine close to the place where the first attack took place.

This is the third time that Denmark has lost a woman on an international mission. In 2003 a female lance corporal died in a traffic accident in Kosovo while a woman police officer died in the Palestinian city of Hebron in 1998.

Denmark has lost 31 soldiers in Afghanistan since 2002, not including one soldier who committed suicide. 107 soldiers have been wounded since Danish troops moved into Helmand province in 2006.

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