The third Bulgarian unit leaves for Afghanistan tonight, the defense ministry announced. The flight was postponed a couple of times this week because of the bad meteorological conditions.

The Bulgarian unit leaves for Kabul for a rotation of the Bulgarian troops, part of the international forces in Afghanistan.

23 Bulgarian troops are on the unit. The preparation of the unit kicked off in the beginning of January at the Musachevo base, where the Bulgarian troops who will participate in a probable military operation against Iraq are now being trained.

This is the third Bulgarian unit that leaves for Afghanistan. A commission of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces leaves with the unit to control the rotation and to coordinate the further Bulgarian participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Last year, Bulgaria donated a large number of weapons and ammunition to the Afghan National Army. Bulgaria also donated tents, blankets, medicines, capes, bed sheets, coats, winter and summer clothing, camp chairs and tables, stoves, bandages and gauze to Afghanistan.