Two Latvian soldiers have been killed and two others have been wounded—one seriously—during a firefight with insurgents in Afghanistan.

Details are scant, but the dead have been identified as Sgt. Voldemārs Anševics and PFC Andrejs Merkuševs, Latvian President Valdis Zatlers’ press office announced May 1.

Zatlers expressed his condolences to the soldiers’ families, friends and colleagues.

“Both of the National Armed Forces soldiers have given their lives, responsibly and courageously fulfilling their duties to provide security for many people,” the president said in a statement released by his press office.

Three U.S. soldiers and three Afghan soldiers also were killed in the incident, while three Afghan soldiers were wounded, the Latvian Ministry of Defense announced. The incident occurred in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province, which borders Pakistan, when insurgents attacked a observation post. Artillery and air support were called in to halt the insurgents’ attack.

The deaths of the eight soldiers also were acknowledged by the U.S. Department of State.

“The United States, Latvia and Afghanistan are working together to bring stability to Afghanistan,” spokesman Robert Wood said in a statement released May 1. “Today’s tragic loss of life demonstrates the challenges of our common mission and highlights the sacrifice of the brave individuals carrying it out. It also reaffirms our commitment to the Afghan people and the importance of working together to achieve peace and stability in the region.”

A total of 164 Latvian soldiers have been serving in Afghanistan as part of the multinational force led by the NATO defense alliance.

Anševics and Merkuševs are the second and third Latvian soldiers to die in Afghanistan since the National Armed Forces began serving there in 2003. In August, PFC Edgars Ozoliņš was killed and three other Latvian soldiers were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated as they were escorting members of the press.

Three Latvian soldiers have died in explosions while serving in Iraq. PFC Gints Bleija and PFC Vitālijs Vasiļevs were killed in December 2006, while Lt. Olafs Baumanis died in June 2004.

(Updated with information from the Latvian Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of State.)

Latvian hockey fans hoping for an exciting match against Switzerland got their money’s worth April 30 as their team emerged with a 2-1 victory at the end of a dramatic and penalty filled game.

The Latvians and the Swiss faced each other as the qualfiying round of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Championship got underway in Bern, Switzerland. For the second time this week, the Latvians were forced into a shootout to resolve a game.

The Swiss kept Latvia’s defense busy, letting loose shot after shot against goaltender Edgars Masaļskis, according to a game summary posted on the IIHF’s Web site, www.iihf.com. But it was the Latvians who scored first. At 15:30 into the first period, Mārtiņš Cipulis on a power play got the puck past Swiss goalkeeper Martin Gerber. Cipulis was assisted by Herberts Vasiļjevs and Aleksandrs Niživijs.

The teams went scoreless through the second period, even though the Swiss kept up their attacks and both squads continued to rack up penalty minutes. The Swiss even got called for having too many players on the ice.

But just as the game seemed to be about done, the Swiss regrouped. With Latvia’s Kristaps Sotnieks cooling off in the penalty box, the Swiss pulled Gerber out of their net, added another player to the offense and took advantage of a power play. With 90 seconds to go in the third period, Switzerland’s Andres Ambühl, assisted by Roman Wick and Mark Streit, evened up the score and forced the game into overtime.

Five minutes of overtime failed to resolve the outcome, leading to a shootout that Latvia won thanks to Niživijs. Two days earlier, Latvia had surprised Sweden in a shootout victory.

For the game, Switzerland had 39 shots on goal compared to Latvia’s 22. Latvian players spent 22 minutes in the penalty box, compared to 12 for the Swiss.

Latvia now has a day off. It will face France in a game scheduled to begin at 16:15 Swiss time on May 2 in Bern’s PostFinance Arena. Latvia then goes up against perennial rival Russia—last year’s world champion—in a game set May 3.

President Valdis Zatlers is asking state and Rīga officials to develop an action plan to ensure the safety of foreign tourists visiting Latvia’s capital city, the president’s press office announced April 29.

In a letter to Interior Minister Linda Mūrniece, Economics Minister Artis Kampars, Foreign Minister Māris Riekstiņš and Rīga Mayor Jānis Birks, the president said he is concerned with the inability of government institutions to guarantee tourists’ safety and prevent damage to Latvia’s reputation.

The criminal and administrative codes provide enough power to penalize those who break the law, Zatlers said in the letter. He criticized authorities as being either incompetent or unwilling to enforce the law.

A number of foreign governments have for months been warning about increasing dangers facing tourists in Latvia’s capital.

The United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office, for example, warns of “an increased number of reports recently of foreign tourists being charged extortionate prices for drinks in bars or having fraudulent transactions debited against credit/debit cards.” The warning adds that some tourists have been assaulted or forced to withdraw money from automatic teller machines.

Similarly, the U.S. State Department cautions tourists in Latvia.

“Street crime is a serious problem, particularly for tourists,” warns the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. “In addition to pickpockets in all public areas, there are numerous scam artists targeting foreigners in the tourist pubs and restaurants.”

Non-Caucasian foreigners and “individuals displaying alternative lifestyles” have been victims of verbal and sometimes physical harassment, the bureau adds.

Recently Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation has warned that Rīga is bad news for Finnish tourists. More than 40 cases of crimes against Finnish tourists are suspected to have occurred in 2008, according to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

The latest issue of the Latvian tourism trade magazine Tūrisms devoted its cover story to the problem of taxi drivers and bar owners who cheat customers. According to the magazine, about 10 bars in Rīga are particularly problematic.

More than 5.2 million foreign tourists visited Latvia in 2007, according to the Central Statistical Bureau in Rīga.