Roadside bomb kills Australian soldier in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Roadside bomb kills Australian soldier in southern Afghanistan

2011-08-23 02:10:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- An Australian soldier was killed on Monday while a second coalition service member was injured when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in southern Afghanistan, the Australian Ministry of Defense confirmed.

Australian Chief of the Defense Force General David Hurley said the attack happened at around 2.30 a.m. local time when coalition service members were conducting a mentored patrol with elements of the Afghan National Army in the Khas Uruzgan District of Uruzgan province.

Hurley said a device which detonated near the patrol seriously injured an Australian soldier serving with Mentoring Task Force - Three (MTF-3). "He received immediate first aid from his patrol mates before an aero medical team transferred him to the Role 2 Medical facility in Tarin Kot where he received further medical treatment," the general said. "Unfortunately, the soldier died from his wounds shortly after arrival."

In addition to the Australian, who was not immediately identified, another coalition service member was also wounded and has been medically assessed and remains in a serious but stable condition. His nationality was not released, but was not Australian.

"This is, of course, the twenty-ninth fatality that we have suffered in Afghanistan," said Australian Minister for Defense Stephen Smith during a press conference. "The eighth this year coming a month or so after the death of Todd Langley. This will be a terrible blow to an Australian family tonight. It will also be a terrible reminder to 28 other Australia families and the thoughts of the entire nation will be with those families tonight."

Smith reiterated that the Australian government believes it is on track to achieve its mission in Afghanistan. "We are on track to transition to Afghan-led responsibility for security arrangements in Uruzgan by 2014. This of course does not make it any easier for a family, Australian families, or for the nation to bear the burden of another fatality," Smith said.

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply in recent years, with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war began in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

There are currently more than 132,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 90,000 U.S. troops and more than 9,500 British soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 10,000 American troops later this year, with another 23,000 U.S. troops to return home next year.

So far this year, at least 405 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are American and are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians. The deadliest incident happened earlier this month when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.

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