Two Diggers wounded in Afghanistan

Two Australian soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the defence department says.
The soldiers, serving with the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), were travelling in their vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Saturday when it struck an improvised explosive device.

One soldier was left with serious leg wounds and injuries to other parts of his body
and was evacuated to a coalition medical facility by helicopter.
The other soldier suffered minor wounds and was later evacuated to Tarin Kowt, where
he is resting before a medical assessment to decide whether he is fit to return to
duty.
The next of kin of both soldiers had been notified, defence said.
The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said the seriously
wounded soldier was stabilised at coalition medical facilities in Afghanistan and
would be flown to Germany for further treatment.
"It appears the immediate first aid that his mates applied and the surgery he
received at the coalition hospital saved his life," Air Chief Marshal Houston said
in a statement on Monday.
"He remains seriously ill and in intensive care, but is responding to treatment.
"We will now wait to hear from doctors in Germany to provide an update on the
soldier's condition."
Defence said it would not be releasing further details on the incident or the
identity of the soldiers.
The war has so far claimed the lives of 10 Australian soldiers.
Sergeant Brett Till became the 10th Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan while
trying to defuse a roadside bomb on March 19, just three days after Corporal Mathew
Hopkins was shot dead in a gun battle with Taliban insurgents.
Three diggers, along with a coalition interpreter, were wounded by a roadside bomb
during a gunfight with Taliban insurgents in Oruzgan Province on March 24.