28th Aussie soldier dies in Afghanistan

SYDNEY (AAP) - Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia's large contribution of special forces soldiers and commandos in Afghanistan is justified, as the nation mourned the 28th fatality in the mission.
Sergeant Todd Langley, 35, from the Sydney-based 2nd Commando Regiment, died from a gun shot wound to the head during a battle in southern Afghanistan on Monday.
He is the 28th Australian soldier to die in action in Afghanistan since 2001, and the seventh this year.
Just under half have been special forces and commandos, with many having been on multiple tours.
Australia has about 320 special forces soldiers and commandos in Afghanistan - the third largest contributor of such forces behind the United States and Britain.
Expressing the nation's condolences on Tuesday, Ms Gillard said that being in Afghanistan remained in Australia's national interest.
She said Australia's special forces were lauded around the world.
"We need them in the numbers we have in Afghanistan because they do take the fire up, push back the insurgency," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.
"They do clear areas that have been safe havens for insurgents, they do find and detect stocks of weapons ... so the work they do is vital to the mission and that is why we have them there in the numbers we do."
Ms Gillard said calls for a political solution to the decade-long war needed to be tempered by reality.
"We should anticipate that there will be setbacks along the way and we should recognise the impetus for people coming to the table, in part, depends on the success of the military mission," she said.
"Military pressure needs to be sustained so we need to keep pursuing our mission in its current form in Afghanistan."
Asked whether it was appropriate for soldiers such as Sgt Langley to be on their fifth tour, Ms Gillard said it had to be assessed on a "case by case basis" and was a matter for the military chain of command.
The prime minister repeated the government's aim to have towns and regions where Australian forces were based move to local security by 2014.
"We are not talking about a day when people step back and everybody leaves - that is not what will happen," she said.
The defence force's new chief, General David Hurley, who took over the role on Monday, said a second soldier was wounded in the engagement and treated at the scene.
He was airlifted to a medical facility in Tarin Kowt and then transferred to a hospital in Kandahar.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith conceded Australian forces and the nation were going through a "tough period".
"We know we can't be in Afghanistan forever," he told reporters, adding that the mission was "on track" to achieve the 2014 handover.