Australia to stay the course in Afghanistan despite rising toll

Nov 9, 2011, 7:40 GMT

Sydney - Australia will stay the course in Afghanistan despite a third incident in which its troops were fired on by a rogue Afghan soldier, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Wednesday.

But she admitted that the latest attack, which left three Australian soldiers seriously injured, would 'corrode trust' between Australians and the Afghan recruits they were training.

Less than two weeks ago, an Afghan soldier was shot after he killed three Australians. In May, an Australian was shot dead while on a joint patrol. The latest incident came just days after Gillard visited Afghanistan.

'As distressing as these incidents are, as dreadful as these incidents are, our mission in Afghanistan does need to continue,' she said.

'Training is pivotal to that mission and our purpose in Afghanistan is to deny Afghanistan as a country in which terrorists can train to wreak violence around the world.'

Australia has around 1,550 soldiers in Afghanistan and is committed to keep its troops there until 2014. Thirty-two Australians have been killed.

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