Two Romanian troops died and a third was wounded in Afghanistan on Friday when their vehicle drove past an improvised explosive device, a Romanian Defense Ministry press release announced.

According to Romanian news agency Mediafax, 17 Romanian have troops died in Afghanistan so far and another 55 suffered injuries. Some 1,663 Romanian troops are deployed in Afghanistan, of which 1,655 are part of NATO mission ISAF.

Romanian President Traian Basescu sent a message of support to the families of the victims on Friday.