The soldiers died when the vehicle they were travelling in crashed and overturned outside the northern provincial capital of Kunduz on Tuesday. Two of the men in the vehicle died instantly and a third died later of his injuries.

Taliban militants had attacked the soldiers' patrol with light arms and rockets, but it is unclear whether their vehicle overturned during the attack or later while returning to base. The crash occurred some six kilometers from the German headquarters in Kunduz.

German Defense Minister Franz Joseph Jung said an investigation would be launched into the soldiers' deaths, which bring the total number of Bundeswehr casualties in Afghanistan to 35.

He said that the troops "died in the cause of peace," but added that their deaths would not deter Germany from participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission to stabilize Afghanistan.

There are around 3,800 German soldiers in Afghanistan, 1,100 of them in the Kunduz region. Germany is the third-largest contributor to ISAF, but the mission is becoming increasingly unpopular at home. A recent survey found that around six in ten Germans would prefer to see Berlin bring the troops home.

The last German fatality in the Kunduz region occurred at the end of April when a soldier was killed in an ambush.

wl/AP/dpa/AFP

Editor: Nathan Witkop