(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-19 09:22

The son of the new chief of the Dutch military and another Dutch soldier serving with NATO-led forces were killed in an explosion in Afghanistan on Friday.

General Peter van Uhm stands during a ceremony to accept the supreme command of the Dutch armed forces in The Hague April 17, 2008. General Peter van Uhm's son serving with NATO-led forces in Afghanistan were killed on Friday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. [Agencies]

Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred at a time of rising violence following a traditional winter lull in fighting.

The Dutch Defense Ministry said in a statement there were no indications that the attack was specifically targeted at the 23-year-old son of chief of joint staffs Peter van Uhm, who took over command of the Dutch military on Thursday.

"The contrast with yesterday's festivities, when command was handed over to General Van Uhm, could not have been bigger," Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop told a news conference in the Hague.

Two other soldiers were also wounded in the attack north of the Dutch base in the southern province of Uruzgan, one of them critically. The blast came as the troops were returning to their base from a major operation that ended on Thursday.

The deaths bring the total number of Dutch soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 16.

Van Middelkoop said though the Dutch armed forces were hard hit by the deaths, they would not be swayed from their task. "We are expected to be strong, united and professional. And that is what we will be," he said.

Deputy chief of joint staffs Freek Meulman said improvised explosive devices (IED's) also wounded 11 Dutch soldiers two weeks ago. "In Uruzgan the threat of IED's is almost continuously present," he said.

The Dutch government decided last year to extend the mission of its troops serving in the volatile south of Afghanistan until 2010. They have been participating in the NATO-led operation since 2006.