Three of the four Bulgarian solders that were wounded in a Taliban missile attack in their base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on January 24 2010 are set to return to Bulgaria on February 4.

The Taliban fired missiles landed at a Nato base in Kandahar, wounding four Bulgarian military personnel. The incident happened just 300m from the accommodation of visiting Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolai Mladenov. One missile exploded in a Romanian army tent, wounding three inside, and the shock wave also injured four Bulgarian soldiers nearby.

Of the wounded, junior sergeant Alexander Alexandrov was reported to be critical and in a coma. He was airlifted to the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, the site of a US Army medical installation.

Another soldier, Yordan Petkov, underwent two separate surgeries as he suffered numerous injuries to the stomach.

The third soldier who was sent to Germany, private Yavor Ivanov, was also operated on. His condition was reported as stable following his surgery and his life is also not said to be in danger.

The fourth, private Luchezar Danailov, who received only minor injuries during the explosion, was treated and released on site