Wounded Australian soldiers making good recovery in Afghanistan: DM

Two Australian soldiers seriously hurt in a bomb blast in Afghanistan is making good recovery, Defense Minister Stephen Smith said on Wednesday.

In the latest Afghanistan fatality on Monday, Sergeant Brett Wood, 32, was killed in the explosion of an insurgent improvised explosive device, while two other Australian soldiers were seriously wounded.

"I am very pleased to be able to indicate that the latest advice I have this morning is that the two who were seriously injured are now in a satisfactory condition, "Smith told ABC television on Wednesday.

"They are both in an International Security Assistance Force medical facility in Afghanistan and so we are now confident that they will make a full recovery."

In a separate incident, another three Australian soldiers on Monday morning were hurt in a gunfight with insurgents in Afghanistan. They are being treated in Tarin Kowt.

Smith said these three soldiers were all in a satisfactory condition.

Wood was Australia's 24th soldier lost in a decade of involvement in Afghanistan, and the third so far this year.

Referring to the loss of Sergeant Wood, Smith said any death was terrible tragedy for the family and a blow to the nation.

But he reaffirmed Australia's commitment to stay the distance in Afghanistan, saying that progress had been made in the past 12 months in Afghanistan and gains made over the winter months had been consolidated.

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