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Two soldiers in satisfactory condition

Two Australian soldiers seriously wounded in a bomb blast which killed two of their colleagues remain in a satisfactory condition, defence says.

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Source: AAP


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The two unnamed soldiers from the Mentoring Task Force (MTF1) were wounded when an insurgent improvised explosive device (IED) detonated against their Bushmaster vehicle in the Baluchi Valley region of Oruzgan Province on Friday afternoon Australian time.

The blast killed 35-year-old father of two Private Grant Kirby and 21-year-old Private Tomas Dale, both outside the vehicle at the time.

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MTF commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jennings said the two wounded soldiers were treated by their mates at the incident scene before being evacuated to a nearby ISAF medical facility for further treatment.

"The team had the site secured, first aid applied and casualty evacuation under way in a matter of minutes," he said in a statement.

"The process worked extremely well, with both soldiers receiving quality medical attention at Tarin Kowt less than 50 minutes after the blast occurred."

Lieutenant Colonel Jennings said the task force was still coming to terms with the loss of Private Dale and Private Kirby.

"It's testament to the professionalism of the soldiers I proudly command that they have got straight back into the job at hand and performed admirably under trying circumstances," he said.

Family members of both wounded soldiers have been notified.

The death of the two soldiers takes the Australian death toll to 20 in almost a decade in Afghanistan.

Another 149 soldiers have been wounded over this period, with 49 so far this year.


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