Media Room: Media Releases

AUSTRALIAN TROOPS INVOLVED IN SHOOTING INCIDENT IN AFGHANISTAN

Two Afghan men have been shot in an incident involving Australian troops deployed north of Tarin Kowt as part of pre-election security operations.

The two men were travelling on a motorcycle when they failed to comply with verbal and visual signals to stop at a Vehicle Check Point.

The men were shot at by the soldiers of the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF), resulting in the death of one man and the wounding of another.

The Acting Chief of Joint Operations Command, Air Vice Marshal Greg Evans, said the wounded Afghan man had been aero-medically evacuated to the Tarin Kowt military hospital for emergency treatment.

“Immediately following the engagement, the Australian force element came under small arms fire. However, as operations are ongoing, there is not yet a lot of additional information relating to this incident,” AVM Evans said.

“According to incident reporting, the men were later confirmed by Afghan National Police as being ANP members although they were not wearing uniforms and did not identify themselves as police members. The body of the deceased man will be handed to ANP.”

In accordance with Defence procedures, an internal assessment of the operational facts will now commence.

All civilian deaths are a tragedy and our forces work very hard to avoid them.  Members of the ADF operate under strict Rules of Engagement designed to protect our troops on operations, while ensuring that the actions of Australian forces are consistent with our obligations under Australian and international law in protecting the lives and property of the innocent.  Australia’s Rules of Engagement are designed to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure but also to provide suitable protection to our troops.

In another incident, a Bushmaster struck an IED during a routine patrol in Oruzgan Province.  There were no Australians wounded during this attack and this again demonstrates the Bushmaster’s proven ability to be a very good protection platform for our people operating in Afghanistan.

Australia has deployed an additional 120 soldiers to Afghanistan as part of the international Election Support Force. The soldiers are formed into a Combat Team as part of the MRTF-2.

Media contact: Defence Media Liaison (02) 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664