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.