Australian soldier dies on 7th tour of Afghanistan

Canberra, Australia Jul 3: An Australian Special Air Service Regiment soldier has been shot dead during his seventh tour of duty in Afghanistan.





Australian Defense Force Chief Lt. Gen. David Hurley said Tuesday the 40-year-old elite veteran was killed in Uruzgan province on Monday during an operation targeting an insurgent commander.

His name was not released at his family's request.

None of the other 32 Australian casualties in the Afghanistan campaign had served as many tours.

Hurley says it was “probably unusual” that a soldier had served seven tours in the decade-old war.

But he says he's confident that soldiers are not being asked to do too much.

Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan and is the largest military contributor to the U.S.-led alliance outside NATO.