Australian dies in Afghanistan battle

An Australian man fighting with British defence forces has been killed in a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
The unnamed soldier was fighting with Britain's 1st Battalion in Helmand province, a volatile area in the south of the war-torn country.
The soldier was given immediate first aid and was evacuated by helicopter but later
died.
"The death of this soldier has left everyone in Task Force Helmand deeply saddened.
Whilst words cannot ease their devastating loss, our heartfelt condolences go to his
family, friends and colleagues at this time," Task Force spokeswoman Paula Rowe
said.
The soldier's family has been told of his death.
While the man was not an Australian soldier there are 16 diggers from Townsville
seconded to the British fight in Helmand.
News of the death came as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a surprise, morale-boosting
visit to Australian troops in Afghanistan a week before Christmas.
The visit was kept secret for security reasons but he flew out of Darwin on Tuesday
for Abu Dhabi and into Afghanistan on Wednesday.
Mr Rudd paid tribute to the seven Australian soldiers already killed in Afghanistan
and reminded troops that Australians were thinking of them in what he described as a
"godforsaken place".
"The purpose of being here is very simple ... from me as prime minister of Australia
to say thank you, thank you, thank you for what you're doing," he told the troops.
Mr Rudd said all Australians felt the loss when a soldier was killed on duty.
"I've been to too many funerals, I don't like going. But you know something? When we
say goodbye to one of our own, the nation is united in a common purpose."
He praised the efforts of troops in helping Afghanistan along the path of democracy,
and said he realised how hard it was for them to be away from their families at
Christmas.
"The nation will be thinking of you this week," he said.
To mark the start of the Test series in Australia against South Africa, he presented
the soldiers with a Christmas gift of a new cricket kit.
Before leaving, Mr Rudd toured a workshop where locals are given trades training by
soldiers who are part of the Australian reconstruction force.
He also watched a display of heavy-weapons fire and the launch of an unmanned aerial
drone.
Mr Rudd's visit to Tarin Kowt base, which is home to about 800 Australian troops
including a special forces unit, was a repeat of a similar trip last year, days
before Christmas.
But this time the prime minister did not go on to visit Australian troops in Iraq.
Instead, he planned to join sailors for breakfast on HMAS Parramatta, which is
docked in Abu Dhabi as part of its duty protecting Iraqi oil assets in the Arabian
Gulf.
Mr Rudd was also scheduled to hold meetings with senior government officials of the
United Arab Emirates before a planned flight back to Sydney on Friday.