Nine Australians wounded fighting Taliban

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Taliban fighters with guns and rocket-propelled grenades ambushed Australian forces in southern Afghanistan, starting a battle that wounded nine troops and killed several insurgents, officials said Wednesday. The fighting overnight Tuesday was the latest clash in a rising tide of violence in southern Uruzgan province, where attacks on foreign forces have become more common nearly seven years after the hard-line Islamic regime was ousted in a U.S.-led invasion. Australian Defense spokesman Brig. Brian Dawson said the troops' convoy was attacked as they returned from an operation to disrupt Taliban networks. One Australian soldier suffered life-threatening injuries, five were seriously hurt, while the wounds to three others were reported to be slight, Dawson said. The soldiers were evacuated from the battlefield by helicopter and were being treated at NATO coalition medical facilities.