Bodies of Spanish police killed in Kabul embassy attack to be flown home

The bodies of the two Spanish policemen killed in the Taliban attack close to the Spanish embassy in Kabul will be flown back to Spain on Tuesday, Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz has confirmed.

Isidro Gabino Sanmartin and Jorge Garcia Tudela died when the Taliban exploded a car bomb close to the embassy ahead of a gunfight which lasted for several hours. 12 people died in the attacks, including four members of the Afghan security forces.

The Ministry for the Presidency said in a communiqué it was "an attack against Spain and against our collaboration in the consolidation of democracy in Afghanistan."

The aircraft to bring home the bodies will depart from Madrid at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Monday and is expected to be back in the Spanish capital around 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

According to Fernandez Diaz, the remaining seven police officers who had been protecting the Embassy in Kabul were "in good condition."

Speaking at an election meeting in Barcelona, the minister rejected claims that security measures at the embassy were not enough for a place like Kabul.

He said police had been "specially trained" for the job and they had "avoided a worse massacre and saved the lives of the embassy staff" in their "heroic actions".

Meanwhile, the family of Jorge Tudela have asked in a statement the major political parties not to use his name in the ongoing general election campaign. Endit