Berlin ? Anti-aircraft missiles that peacekeepers in the Afghan capital Kabul were trying to defuse exploded Wednesday, killing two German and three Danish soldiers, the top officer in the Germany military said.

Seven soldiers were injured, three of them seriously, German Gen. Harald Kujat said.

He said the soldiers were observing safety regulations and said there was no sign of sabotage. “This was an accident,” he told a news conference in Berlin.

More than 700 German soldiers are part of the international security force deployed in and around the Afghan capital.

Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping was in Djibouti on Wednesday on a trip to visit German naval forces deployed in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Germany has pledged a total of 3,900 troops for the anti-terror campaign, including the naval contingent deployed off the Horn of Africa, troops in Afghanistan and about 100 in neighboring Uzbekistan.