Diggers' racist remarks

Stephen Smith, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. Photo / NZ Herald

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith has personally apologised to his Afghan counterpart, Abdul Rahim Wardak, for offensive comments made by soldiers on Facebook.

Smith described as "appalling" the conduct of a small number of soldiers who face disciplinary action and the prospect of being sent back to Australia.

Videos, broadcast on Thursday night by the Seven Network, show soldiers referring to Afghans as "sand coons", "dune coons", "niggers" and "smelly locals". Another is referred to as a "raghead". When a local man was shown running away from an explosion, a soldier was heard to say that the blast "scared the f*** out of that mufti".

A number of soldiers list their employer as a "f***ing ranga", a reference to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Smith said such conduct was of the most appalling kind which brought the army into disrepute.