Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan

PRAGUE (Reuters) - An explosion killed one Czech soldier and wounded four others in the Afghan province of Logar on Wednesday, the Czech general staff said.

It said their four-wheel drive Humvee was hit by "an improvised explosive" while returning from a mission. One of the wounded has serious injuries, head of general staff Lieutenant-General Vladimir Picek said in a statement.

Earlier on Wednesday the Czech Republic lower house of parliament approved a mission to send 100 extra combat troops to Afghanistan to join a U.S.-led force fighting Taliban militants.

Parliament's upper house gave its approval last week.

The special forces troops will be under U.S. command as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which is separate from the large NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

The NATO member also plans to send 80 soldiers to Afghanistan as a protection force for a Dutch reconstruction team, said Defense Ministry spokesman Andrej Cirtek.

"In total, we will have about 500 soldiers in Afghanistan in the second half of this year," he said.

About 100 Czech troops are based at Kabul airport where they operate a field hospital, chemical and training units.

The country also has a 200-strong provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan's southern Logar region, and about 30 soldiers in the southern province of Helmand.

The Defense Ministry said October it planned to reduce the number of Czech troops in Iraq this year from around 100, while increasing its military presence in Afghanistan.

The soldier killed on Wednesday is the second Czech casualty caused by enemy action in Afghanistan, following a suicide attack which killed one in the southern Helmand province in March.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Diana Abdallah)