Spain holds emotional state funeral for 17 soldiers

MADRID, Spain (AP) - The coffins of 17 Spanish soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were arranged together and surrounded by mourners Saturday at an emotional state funeral at the Spanish army headquarters.

King Juan Carlos, who attended the funeral along with other members of the royal family, helped Sgt. Susana Perez Torres in laying a medal on the flag-draped coffin of her husband, Sgt. Alfredo Francisco Joga, who was killed in the crash Tuesday.

The Spanish soldiers were part of the NATO-led security force preparing for next month's parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, and their deaths marked NATO's largest single loss of life there.

Some mourners were so overcome with grief that they they had to leave parts of the service. >>.continued

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