Australian soldier dies in Afghanistan

File photo / Supplied

An Australian special forces soldier has died in Afghanistan, taking the number of Australian soldiers to have died in Afghanistan to 18.

Acting Defence Force chief Lieutenant General David Hurley named the soldier as Trooper Jason Brown, 29, a member of the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment.

Lieutenant General Hurley on Saturday said Trooper Brown was shot overnight while assisting in a "disruption operation" in northern Kandahar.

Several insurgents engaged the coalition troops using small arms, and Trooper Brown suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

He received immediate first aid and was evacuated by helicopter to Kandahar, but died.

Lieutenant General Hurley expressed "deep regret" at the death.

No other other Australian or Afghan troops were wounded.

He said the soldier's family had been notified.

Lieutenant General Hurley said Trooper Brown was an experienced soldier with just over 10 years service. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan but he had deployed three times to East Timor.

"Australian troops are constantly engaged in this battle. They face significant threats every day and do so with professionalism and courage," he told reporters.

"It is these characteristics which make Australian service personnel so well regarded around the world.

"When a member of the ADF family dies in the service of our country, it hits us all very hard."

Trooper Brown was not married and had no children.

Lieutenant General Hurley declined to comment further on the fatal incident, which occurred at 1.30am on Saturday (AEST) Australian time, because the operation is ongoing and troops are still out in the field.

He said Defence would work to repatriate Trooper Brown's body within the week, but it could not yet be confirmed if that timeframe was possible.

Defence Minister John Faulkner said he had earlier on Saturday spoken to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott about Trooper Brown.

Senator Faulkner said the nation's thoughts were with Trooper Brown's family and with his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

"We cannot ease their grief any more than we can repay his sacrifice," he said.

Senator Faulkner said recent months had been a time of increasing danger in Afghanistan.

He said Australian defence personnel continued to carry out their work with courage and professionalism in conditions of real hardship and very real danger.

"I can assure Jason's family and friends that he, together with his mates, were striking at the heart of the Taleban insurgency as part of our mission in Afghanistan to make sure that extremists and international terrorist groups do not again find safe havens and training grounds in that country," he said.

"This is a critical time for the international coalition in Afghanistan and for the Afghan people.

"The work of pushing back the Taleban is difficult, it is costly, but it is absolutely necessary if we are to achieve our goals in Afghanistan."

Senator Faulkner and Lieutenant General Hurley were speaking at a news conference at Defence headquarters in Canberra.

- AAP