Gillard vows troops will stay in Afghanistan

Sergeant Brett Wood. Photo / Supplied

Australian troops will remain in Afghanistan - possibly beyond the present exit target of 2014 - despite the death of another commando, the wounding of five more soldiers and warnings to the nation to steel itself for more casualties.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard reinforced the bipartisan policy of staying "until the job is done" after confirmation of the death of Sergeant Brett Wood, 32, a decorated veteran of three tours in Afghanistan.

Two companions are in a serious condition after being injured in the roadside bomb that killed Wood. Three more were wounded in a separate firefight, bringing the number of Australians killed in action to 24, with 174 injured.

Gillard's determination to remain in an unpopular war that has now lasted longer than Vietnam has also been undented by the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden - seen as a significant setback for the terrorist group but not sufficient to change Australian policy or to signal an end to the global threat posed by jihadists.

And Australia has not been influenced by Britain's decision to pull out about 400 troops next year ahead of a "come what may" total withdrawal by 2015, a position United States President Barack Obama will argue against during this week's visit to London.

"There will be some who despair and wonder why we are there in Afghanistan and whether we are making any progress," Gillard said after Wood's death was announced yesterday.

"[But] we will see the mission through. Progress is being made - it's difficult, but progress is being made and we are there for all of the right reasons.

"We are there to ensure that Afghanistan does not again ensure a safe haven for terrorists."

Government policy was underwritten in this month's federal Budget, which committed a further A$1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) to operations in Afghanistan and the wider Middle East over the next year.

A further A$1.6 billion will be spent over three years for sophisticated defences for troops in Afghanistan, and 100 new Bushmaster armoured troop carriers will be bought for the war - 30 to replace vehicles destroyed in action.

Collateral political damage from the war also continues, with confirmation yesterday that Diggers may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis by the failure to properly sterilise surgical equipment at a Dubai hospital.

Defence chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston played down the report in Fairfax newspapers, saying no seriously injured soldiers had been treated at the hospital and only a relative handful had minor operations there.

Houston said he did not expect any to have contracted diseases as a result.

Earlier, the decision to drop manslaughter charges against two reservists accused of killing six civilians during a raid on a Taleban base was criticised by Uruzgan provincial governor Muhammad Omar Shirzad.

Judge Advocate Brigadier Ian Westwood last week dismissed the court martial that was set down for July and referred the matter back to the Director of Military Prosecutions, Brigadier Lyn McDade, to decide if other charges should be laid.

But Shirzad told ABC radio that civilian casualties could have dire consequences for coalition forces, and that if the case was proven the soldiers should be brought to justice and jailed.

Yesterday, the death of Woods was mourned by family and political and military leaders.

"I have not only lost my husband, I have lost my best friend," his wife, Elvi Wood, said. "The past six years with him were the happiest of my life."