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Casualties - ADF

by Richard Tanter — last modified 30-Apr-2009 11:59

Australian Defence Force casualties in Afghanistan.

Deaths

19 March 2009 - Sergeant Brett Till

Personal details of soldier killed in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 21 March 2009

Sergeant Brett Till, a highly-respected Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician from the Incident Response Regiment in Holsworthy, New South Wales, was killed by an explosion that occurred during a route clearance task in Southern Afghanistan on Thursday, 19 March 2009.

Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 19 March 2009

An Australian soldier has been killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) while conducting operations in southern Afghanistan. Australian soldiers were conducting a route clearance early this morning local time when the IED was detected. In the course of dealing with the device there was an explosion. It is believed that the soldier, who was a specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician, was killed instantly.

As one comes home … another digger dies, Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 March 2009

An Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan - the second in a week - died while trying to protect his colleagues and defuse a roadside bomb.The soldier, a bomb disposal specialist, was killed instantly after the device he was trying to defuse detonated early on Thursday morning local time, a Defence Media statement said.The soldier's patrol, which comprised coalition forces, was believed to be on a narrow road or track when the incident occurred.

16 March 2009 - Corporal Mathew Hopkins

Personal details of soldier killed in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 18 March 2009

Corporal Mathew Hopkins was tragically killed in an engagement with insurgents while serving with the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) in Afghanistan.

Media conference by chief of the defence force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston regarding the death of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan, Defence Speech, Department of Defence, 17 March 2009

I would characterise it as, they were patrolling. One of the things that we're doing, as part of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team activities, is patrolling in the areas that the Afghan National Army are holding. So we go out and we do patrolling. As they were patrolling they were engaged by the insurgents, and they returned fire, and that's when the casualty occurred.

As the weather improves there will be more fighting. That's the pattern we've seen over the last few years; and we're probably seeing more Taliban activity now than we did through the middle of the winter.

Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 17 March 2009

An Australian soldier serving with the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) in Afghanistan has been killed in an engagement with insurgents. The soldier was part of a joint patrol with the Afghan National Army near Kakarak, north of Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan Province. No other Australians were wounded in the engagement. Initial reports indicate that the patrol was engaged by a group of around 20 Taliban insurgents using small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades, around mid-morning on Monday, Afghanistan time.

Ninth Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan, Georgina Robinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 March 2009

An Australian soldier has died in southern Afghanistan after a heavy gun battle with about 20 Taliban insurgents. The insurgents attacked a foot patrol of Australian and Afghan soldiers near Karakak, about 12 kilometres north of Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan province, yesterday afternoon AEST time. The Australian soldier, a member of the Mentoring and Reconstruction Taskforce, was shot and killed.

5 January 2009 - Private Gregory Michael Sher

Personal details of soldier killed in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 6 January 2009

Private Gregory Michael Sher was killed in a rocket attack in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

Australian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 5 January 2009

An Australian soldier in Afghanistan has been killed in a rocket attack whilst conducting operations in Oruzgan Province.

“Taliban insurgents engaged an Afghan forward operating base with rockets. An Australian element was deployed at the base during this attack.

“As a result of this indirect fire it is with regret that I inform you that an Australian soldier has been killed. No other Australian soldiers, or other coalition nationals, were wounded in this attack.

“The soldier was killed instantly when a rocket exploded in the compound,” Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Angus Houston said,

Australian Defence Force Chief Angus Houston Announces an Australian Soldier has Been Killed in Afghanistan, Speech, Australian Defence Force Chief Angus Houston, Department of Defence, 5 January 2009

28 November 2008 - Lieutenant Michael Fussell

Media Conference Held by Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General David Hurley, Australian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan, Department of Defence, 28 November, 2008

"Members of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan were conducting an offensive operation against Taliban insurgents. An Australian Special Forces patrol was operating on foot when an IED exploded. It is with deep sorrow that I inform you that an Australian soldier was killed as a result of this explosion.Two other Australian soldiers were also slightly wounded."

9 July 2008 - SAS Signaller Sean McCarthy

Release of the Inquiry Officer's Report into the Death of Signaller Sean McCarthy, Media Release, Department of Defence, 9 October 2008

"The Inquiry Officer’s Report found that Signaller McCarthy died from massive wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated under the Long Range Patrol Vehicle he was travelling in. The Inquiry Officer found that the Aero-Medical Evacuation process was conducted within timings specified by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and agreed to by Australia. The Inquiry Officer also found that no equipment, personnel or process contributed to Signaller McCarthy’s death."

Media Conference by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force Announcement Re: The Findings into the Death of an Australian Soldier in Afghanistan and Claims of Mistreatment of Detainees, Lieutenant General David Hurley, Department of Defence, 29 August 2008

One fatality, two accounts, Tom Hyland, Uruzgan Weblog, 12 November 2008

The Taliban announced the death of signaller Sean McCarthy by invoking "the name of God most merciful, most gracious".

Special Operations Soldier Killed – Three Wounded, Media Release, Department of Defence, 9 November 2008

"An Australian soldier serving with the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) in Afghanistan has been killed in a road-side bomb attack in Afghanistan. Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus (ACM) Houston said the soldier was killed Tuesday afternoon (AEST) when Australian soldiers were conducting a patrol in southern Afghanistan. Two other Australian soldiers were also wounded by the Improvised Explosive Device (IED)."

28 April 2008 - Lance Corporal Jason Marks

Media Conference By The Chief Of The Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Regarding The Death Of An Australian Soldier In Southern Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 28 April 2008.

"An Australian soldier serving with this Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Jason Marks, died during the conduct of a patrol which was engaged by Taliban extremists in Uruzgan Province, approximately 25 kilometres to the south-east of Tarin Kowt. The engagement in which he died was characterised by a heavy exchange of small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Four other soldiers were wounded by small arms fire in the same action."

23 November 2007 - Private Luke Worsley

SOTG Soldier Killed During Assault on Taliban Extremists, Media Release, Department of Defence, 23 November 2007

“An Australian Commando serving with the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) in Afghanistan was killed earlier today by Taliban extremists. Private Luke Worsley was killed while participating in a planned and deliberate attack by our forces against Taliban leaders and their supporters in Oruzgan Province. The action in which Private Worsley died was characterised by heavy, close quarter fighting. The SOTG was conducting an operation to clear an identified Taliban bomb making facility in Oruzgan Province, when the soldier was hit by small arms fire. Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the SOTG assault followed several weeks of monitoring and intelligence gathering by Australian and ISAF elements."

One ISAF soldier, three civilians killed in southern Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force, Press release, 23 November 2007.

“’At this time we simply do not know, how the civilians died. However, we do know that the insurgents fired upon ISAF soldiers from the compound in which the Afghan civilians (two women and one child) were found after the fight. ISAF makes all effort to prevent losses of innocent civilian lives.’”

Update - Attack on Bomb-Making Compound, Media release, Department of Defence, 24 November 2007.

"Although the cause of these deaths has not been established, ADF Spokesman Andrew Nikolić said that the attack successfully targeted Taliban operations in Oruzgan Province. 'The attack by the SOTG was based on clear intelligence over a period of time, about the bomb-making activities being conducted at that location. This raid will have degraded the Taliban's capacity to produce bombs for use in Oruzgan Province, which constitute one of the biggest threats to our people and Afghan civilians. The three civilians that died at some stage during the attack were in close proximity to heavy, close-quarter fighting between members of the SOTG and the Taliban.

25 October 2007 - Sergeant Matthew Locke

Special Air Service Soldier Killed in Afghanistan, Media Conference, Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, 25 October 2007

“The soldier was killed by small-arms fire from Taliban extremists while conducting operations in Oruzgan province. An on call coalition helicopter immediately responded to a call for assistance from the Australian patrol and evacuated the soldier to a nearby medical facility.

Despite the best efforts of his comrades and the aero medical evacuation team the soldier succumbed to his wounds.”

8 October 2007 – Trooper David Pearce.

RTF Soldier Killed In Roadside Bomb Attack, Media Conference, Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, 9 October 2007.

“The soldier, serving with the Reconstruction Task Force was tragically killed and another soldier wounded when a roadside bomb detonated next to their vehicle in Oruzgan Province yesterday morning, Afghanistan time. These two men were part of a patrol returning from an engineer reconnaissance task and were six kilometres from their base at Tarin Kowt when the incident occurred. The security element to which these two soldiers belonged was protecting engineers who undertake important reconstruction work in the province. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, other members of the patrol secured the scene and provided assistance to the crew of this stricken vehicle."

16 February 2002 - SAS (Special Air Service) Trooper Andrew Russell.

Statement - Australian Fatality in coalition against terrorism, Media Release, Senator Robert Hill, Minister of Defence, 17 Feb 2002

“A member of the Australian Army special forces currently operating in Afghanistan has been killed in an overnight incident. The soldier died from wounds he received when the vehicle he was travelling in struck a suspected anti-vehicle mine in southern Afghanistan.”

Andrew Russell's legacy, Margo Kingston, Web Diary, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 November 2003

Includes Remembering Trooper Russell, by Robert Sadleir:

“Andrew Russell died in the most unforgiving spot on earth where the howling sands of Dasht-e-Margo (Desert of Death) engulf the Dasht-e-Jehanum (Desert of Hell): southern Afghanistan.The southern region of Afghanistan is, as the Essential Field Guide to Humanitarian and Conflict Zones warns, "the most heavily mined in the country with numerous anti-tank minefields". In this the heaviest of mined lands. SAS sergeant Andrew Russell died when his Land Rover struck an anti-tank mine.”

Wounded

Australian soldiers wounded in engagement with Taliban, Media Release, Department of Defence, 25 March 2009

Australian soldiers conducting a dismounted patrol led by the Afghan National Army in Oruzgan Province, were engaged in a contact with Taliban insurgents who used an Improvised Explosive Device, Rocket Propelled Grenades and small arms fire on Tuesday, 24 March 2009.

Three Australian soldiers from the Australian Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) patrol and a coalition interpreter were wounded in the engagement. Their wounds were caused by fragmentation from the Improvised Explosive Device. It is not known what caused the device to activate.

The OMLT patrol returned fire and coalition close air support was provided during the engagement.

ADF Troops Involved in Incident in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 3 December, 2008

"Australian soldiers operating in Afghanistan as part of the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force were involved in a shooting incident yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 30 Dec 08) Afghan local time (2012 AEST) while supporting an Afghan National Army operation.

A man approached a patrol in a manner that was suspicious, as a result of his behaviour and failure to comply with repeated directions by soldiers to stop, the man was fired upon and killed.

Initial indications are that the response by the patrol was appropriate to the situation and in accordance with their training and escalation of force procedures."

Special Operations Task Group Soldiers Wounded In Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 3 September 2008

Nine Australian Special Forces soldiers have been wounded in action during an overnight battle with Taliban extremists in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. The soldiers were part of an ongoing Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) operation to disrupt Taliban extremist command and control networks at the time of the incident.

Initial reporting indicates that one SOTG soldier suffered life-threatening wounds, five suffered serious wounds and three suffered slight wounds in the contact. Several Taliban extremists were killed in the contact.

Nine elite troops ambushed in southern Afghanistan, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 3 September 2008

Australia has suffered one of its worst battlefield incidents since the Vietnam War, with one soldier left fighting for his life and eight others wounded in an ambush launched by Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

The Australians, all elite special forces soldiers, were driving through rugged mountain country in southern Afghanistan on Monday evening when they were surprised by a barrage of rockets and machine-gun fire.One of the soldiers suffered life-threatening injuries, five were "seriously" wounded and three had light wounds.

Australian Soldier Wounded in Battle with Taliban, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2008-05-01

"Another Australian soldier has been wounded in fighting with Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was hit in one arm as Australian special forces pursued Taliban insurgents in the same area where 27-year-old Lance Corporal Jason Marks was killed and four other commandos were wounded on Sunday. There are no details of Taliban casualties from the fighting. Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston said the fifth soldier, whose name has not been released, was wounded late on Tuesday while helping to clear insurgents from an area south of the Australian base at Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan province."

RTF soldier slightly wounded in failed Oruzgan suicide attack, Media Release, Defence Department, 4 May 2007.

"A Reconstruction Task Force soldier suffered slight wounds in a failed suicide attack against an Australian vehicle check point in Oruzgan Province. Two Afghan nationals were also wounded when a Taliban extremist detonated an explosive device north of the RTF’s Tarin Kowt base. The attacker was killed by the explosive blast."

Three Australians slightly wounded in Kandahar rocket attack, Media Release, Defence Department, 17 March 2007

“Three Australian soldiers were slightly wounded during an overnight rocket attack at Kandahar Airfield in Southern Afghanistan. The soldiers suffered minor blast-effect injuries when the single rocket struck their accommodation area.”

Australian soldier returns to Australia from Afghanistan, Joint statement from Minister for Defence and Chief of Defence Force, Media Release, defence Department, 24 March 2006

“An Australian soldier serving with the Special Forces Task Group in Southern Afghanistan has returned to Australia for medical rehabilitation after suffering a minor wound earlier this month. The soldier was wounded during an engagement with anti-coalition militia elements. The soldier is the third Australian to be wounded in contact with anti-coalition elements since the deployment of the Special Forces Task Group last year.”

Australian Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan, Media release, Department of Defence, 4 October 2005

“An Australian Special Forces Task Group soldier received a minor shrapnel wound during a clash with anti-coalition militia (ACM) forces in Afghanistan over the weekend.”

Special forces soldier wounded in action, Operation Slipper Media releases, 5 May 2006

Update - Australian Soldier Injured In Coalition Against Terrorism, Media Release, Defence Department, 20 January 2002

“On Friday, 18th January, 2002 the Department of Defence confirmed that an Australian soldier had been injured in a mine incident in Southern Afghanistan. Defence spokesman Brigadier Gary Bornholt said ‘while the soldier’s injuries are serious they are not life threatening. His large toe was removed as a result of the incident and his second toe was later amputated. He also sustained multiple fractures of the foot and right ankle and superficial lacerations.’

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