Three Albanian, One American Soldier Injured In Mine Blast In Iraq

TIRANA, July 27 (AFP) - Three Albanian and one American soldier were wounded in a mine blast near the airport of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, the Albanian defence ministry said.
The four coalition soldiers were injured when their car car ran over a mine while patrolling near Mosul airport, the ministry said.
"One Albanian and the US soldier have been hospitalized, while the other two have left the hospital after treatment," said Igli Hasani, defence ministry spokesman.
Some 75 Albanian soldiers have been deployed in Iraq. Stationed in the region around the northern city of Mosul, they have been patrolling the area under US command.
A najority Muslim country, Albania plans to increase the number of its troops in Iraq to up to 200 men, the authorities said.
Albania, which is aiming to join NATO in 2005, was among the first of the central and eastern European countries to back the US-led war on Iraq, opening up its air and naval bases for use by NATO and coalition forces.