TARIN KOWT, 23/01/07 - While the defence ministry is tight-lipped about the fate of five wounded Dutch soldiers, Colonel Theo Vleugels is about to transfer command of the Dutch and Australian soldiers in Task Force Uruzgan (TFU-II). Colonel Hans van Griensven is to succeed him in the Afghan province tomorrow.

On Friday, five soldiers were wounded in a suicide attack with a car bomb. Four of them, including two seriously injured in the face, have been transferred to the military hospital in Kandahar, which will look at how and when they can go back to the Netherlands. The ministry is giving no details on the nature of their injuries. One of the soldiers is said to have lost his eyes.

The ministry has announced a 'black hole.' This means that telephone and Internet communication for the troops and press that may be present is not allowed until a debriefing has been held. The wounded soldiers themselves "do not want to speak" to the press, according to the ministry.

Vleugels is handing over command of the Dutch soldiers in the Afghan province to his colleague Van Griensven this week after six months. The departing commander is annoyed by the way missions like that in Uruzgan are often viewed in the Netherlands. "If everything goes well, we are doing nothing and not fighting enough. And if there is fighting, this is once again too much of a combat mission. But we do what is necessary."

The Dutch have aroused international amazement by not yet losing a single soldier in combat situations, though five Dutch soldiers have now been wounded. Some say the Netherlands is successful with its strategy of cooperation with local tribes. Critics however claim the Dutch rarely leave their bases.

The Task Force Uruzgan has according to Vleugels succeeded in making a difference in the first six months. "But we are by no means there." Troops will still be necessary in Uruzgan for a very long time. "Perhaps as much as 10 years or longer," predicted Vleugels.

Van Griensven believes Uruzgan "could in a worst-case scenario be the focal point for the Taliban in the spring, but it might as well remain quiet," says the new commander. "If we survive this spring unharmed, we will be a good deal further on."

Van Griensven will not take action against poppy-growing in Uruzgan as long as the population has no alternative for this source of income. He is bearing in mind that possible destruction of poppy-fields by ISAF troops in the neighbouring provinces "could have consequences for Uruzgan."

Vleugels is full of praise for the partnership with the roughly 400 Australians who are mainly occupied with reconstruction work. He also rejects criticisms of the Americans in Uruzgan. "The Americans do not just shoot around, they also organise village meetings and build bridges and hospitals. We have got closer to one another."