By Xinhua,
Canberra : Australian military said Wednesday that their troops in Afghanistan would escalate military operations against Taliban leaders and bomb makers following the death of an Australian soldier in a roadside bomb blast on Tuesday.
Australian defense head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the death of special forces soldier, Signaller Sean McCarthy, would only harden the Australians’ resolve against the insurgents in Afghanistan.
New Zealand-born McCarthy, 25, a member of the Special Air Service Regiment since January last year, died on patrol in southern Afghanistan Tuesday when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his vehicle. Two other Australian soldiers and a coalition soldier were seriously injured.
Air Chief Marshal Houston said IEDs were the Taliban’s main weapon and Australian special forces had achieved considerable success in targeting Taliban bomb makers and leaders.
“This loss … will be a trigger for more and more active operations against those people who produce these dreadful weapons,” Houston said in a statement.
“This will harden our resolve to keep these Taliban leaders, these Taliban bomb makers, under pressure, we will continue to go after them and we will continue to disrupt their activities,” he said.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, in Japan for the G8 Summit, offered his thoughts and prayers to Signaller McCarthy’s family.
“This is a terrible loss for his family today and we honor his service to his country,” he said.