Two Latvian soldiers are dead and three injured after a roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicle, the Latvian Ministry of Defense announced Dec. 27. The soldiers were on patrol.

Killed were PFC Gints Bleija and PFC Vitālijs Vasiļevs. The names of the injured were not reported.

President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga expressed her condolences to the families of the two fallen soldiers.

“They were true soldiers,” the president said in a statement released by her press office, “and, professionally fulfilling their duties, guaranteed the safety of many other people.”

The incident occurred at about 11:55 hours Latvian time, the Ministry of Defense said. The improvised explosive device also damaged the Hummer vehicle.

The two who died are the second and third Latvian soldiers to fall in Iraq. First Lt. Olafs Baumanis, 34, died in a June 2004 explosion.

Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks asked Latvians to light a candle in memory of the two soldiers.

Defense Minister Atis Slakteris also expressed his condolences.

“Hate and unmerciful fanaticism today has taken the lives of two Latvian soldiers,” he said in a statement released by the ministry’s press office. “We have to acknowledge this heavy loss, which the heart and mind refuse to accept.”

The Latvian contigent has been serving in Iraq since 2003 as part of the Polish-led international forces stationed between the American- and British-controlled zones. A total of 113 soldiers make up the contigent, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Earlier this month, the Latvian parliament extended the nation’s mission in Iraq until the end of 2007.

A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who was born in Latvia died in August 2004 during combat in Iraq. Capt. Michael Yury Tarlavsky, 30, was based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

An Estonian soldier died in Iraq in February 2004.

Police in Ireland have arrested a man in connection with the apparent murder-for-hire of the Latvian mother, Baiba Saulīte, who was gunned down Nov. 19 at her home north of Dublin.

The man, described only as in his 30s, was arrested the morning of Dec. 18 and was being held at the police station in Swords, the district where Saulīte lived. He can be held up to 36 hours without being charged.

Police on Dec. 5 arrested two men also in connection with their investigation of the murder, but the suspects were later released.

Saulīte died at her home after being shot three times while she and some acquaintances were visiting at her home. Her two sons, ages 3 and 5, were asleep in the house.

As their investigation developed, police learned the 28-year-old Latvian had feared for her safety. She had fought a custody battle with her estranged husband, a Lebanese named Hassan Hassan, who is serving time in an Irish jail for his involvement in an automobile theft scheme. Hassan also has been sentenced to two years imprisonment for abducting their sons in 2004 and arranging to take them to Syria to be with his family.

In addition, Saulīte’s solicitor had received threats, according to police.

An estimated 84 percent of Latvian residents have a mobile telephone, which is higher than the average of all 25 member states of the European Union, a new survey finds.

The Eurobarometer survey, published in November, focused on mobile phone roaming issues and was based on questionnaires completed in September and October.

Across Europe, the vast majority of the phones in use were personal phones as opposed to business phones, according to the survey. Across the EU, 79 percent of residents have a mobile phone.

The survey found that 55 percent of Latvians have mobile phone access on the basis of a prepaid arrangement, rather than a contract. By comparison, just 23 percent of Estonians have prepaid arrangements, but 75 percent have contracts.

Mobile phone penetration in Estonia was 86 percent, but in Lithuania it was 76 percent. Topping the list was Sweden, where 95 percent of respondents to the survey said they had a mobile phone. Finland was second at 93 percent and the Netherlands third at 91 percent.

At the bottom of the list was Poland, where market penetration was 64 percent.

Of those Europeans who traveled outside their home country, almost all rely on international roaming rather than buying a SIM card in the country they are visiting, the survey found. Latvian citizens are less likely to use their mobile phones when abroad.

The survey suggests EU residents would be more likely to use their mobile phones if roaming fees were more attractive.