Finnish officer, Jukka Kansonen

A Finnish peacekeeper with the ISAF forces in Northern Afghanistan was killed on Tuesday in a blast from an improvised roadside bomb.

The attack took place near the town of Aybak in Samangan Province, and according to a statement from the Finnish Defence Forces the victim was Senior Lieutenant Jukka Kansonen (b. 1975).

The officer's family have been informed, and plans are being drawn up for the return of his body to Finland.

The vehicle in which Lt. Kansonen was travelling was apparently toppled and rolled over in the explosion, which occurred while the troops were on their way to a shooting range on Tuesday at 12:20 local time (09:50 Finnish time).

Lt. Kansonen was killed instantly in the incident.
      

None of the other soldiers in the party of six, travelling in two Mercedes-Benz armoured SUVs, was believed to have suffered any injuries.
      

President Tarja Halonen has offered her condolences to the family of Lt. Kansonen, who is the second Finnish soldier to die in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi also expressed her condolences on behalf of the Finnish government.
      

Sgt. Petri Immonen was also killed by a roadside bomb in May of 2007.
     
There are currently just under 200 Finnish soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. Although conditions in the north of the country are widely recognised to be more stable than in Helmand Province to the south, Finnish and Swedish troops have been attacked on dozens of occasions, not only with IEDs but also with small arms fire and mortar attacks.