A Georgian soldier has died in hospital in Germany after being seriously injured in an explosion in Afghanistan’s Helmand province less than two weeks ago, the Georgian Ministry of Defense said on March 14.

Corporal Valeri Verskiani from the 32nd battalion of the 3rd infantry brigade was badly wounded in mine explosion on March 5, according to the Georgian MoD. It also said that two other soldiers, who also sustained injuries, continue treatment in the same hospital in Germany with their condition being “satisfactory.” 

The latest death brings to seven the total number of Georgian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, since joining the NATO-led operation in November, 2009.

The March 5 incident became publicly known only on March 14 from the MoD’s press release in which it is reporting about the death of the wounded soldier.

MoD does not release information about the incidents in which Georgian soldiers sustain injuries and precise number of Georgian servicemen injured in Afghanistan is not clear.

The Stars and Stripes, the newspaper for U.S. troops partly funded by the Pentagon, ran an article on March 7 about the Georgian troops, which are trained by the U.S. marines to prepare them for the Afghan deployment.

According to this article, which cites Lt. Col. Dan Thoele, executive officer of the U.S. Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group, charged with preparing Georgian servicemen for the Afghan mission, total of 39 Georgian soldiers were injured since April 2010, when Georgia first deployed troops in the Helmand province.