An Australian special forces soldier was shot in the arm in a major two-day operation in Afghanistan's northern Kandahar province ahead of the coalition offensive to retake Kandahar city.
Defence said the unnamed soldier, plus another Afghan National Security Forces soldier shot in the side, were evacuated under Taliban fire and flown to Tarin Kowt for treatment.
The five-day Afghan National Security Force and Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) operation was directed at an insurgent stronghold in the district of Shah Wali Kot in northern Kandahar province.
Defence said it involved heavy fighting and resulted in the deaths of a significant number of insurgents.
A large number of weapons were recovered, including assault rifles, heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers plus several radio handsets.
Australian special forces and their Afghan partners are involved in shaping operations, designed to limit the insurgents' capability to respond in the upcoming Kandahar offensive.
That's part of what the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) calls its Hamkari initiative, an ongoing civil-military program to bring security, governance and economic opportunity to the people of Kandahar.
Commander of Australian Forces in the Middle East Major General John Cantwell said the combined force had dealt a major blow to insurgent forces.
"Through the Shah Wali Kot offensive, the combined coalition force has severely disrupted an important insurgent stronghold. They inflicted substantial losses on a determined and heavily armed enemy force," he said in a statement.
"The operation has also denied the insurgents a staging area from which to transit into Oruzgan province, which is expected to have a positive effect on security."
Commander of the Special Operations Task Group, identified only as Lieutenant Colonel P, said this was a combined effort by Afghan and Australian forces and US helicopters.
Lieutenant Colonel P said people of Shah Wali Kot were grateful to Afghan and Australian forces for pushing out insurgents who had occupied their villages and forced them to provide food and shelter.
One Afghan man approached coalition forces after the fighting and requested medical treatment for a wound to his hand.
Defence said it wasn't clear how he received this non-life threatening wound. He's now receiving treatment from the military hospital at Tarin Kowt.
Subject: Aussie soldier wounded in Afghanistan 
June 16th 2010, 2:47 pm
