CZK 9 m collected for soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Czechs have sent over 9 million crowns to the special donation drive for the families of the three Czech soldiers who recently died in Afghanistan, Lenka Smerdova, chairwoman of the Military Solidarity Fund (VFS), told journalists on Thursday. Thousands of people sent the money either directly to the VFS account or through the donor message service (DMS). The donations are meant to help the families of Martin Marcin, Kamil Benes and Patrik Stepanek who were killed by a suicide attacker in Afghanistan on August 5. So far, Czechs have sent almost 9.15 million crowns (EUR 355,000) to the collection, Smerdova said, adding that 5,700 donors contributed directly to the account and another 28,500 by the DMS.