Two children, have been accidentally killed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, authorities say. Source: AAP
AUSTRALIAN Defence Force (ADF) commanders are trying to find out how two Afghan children were killed during an allied operation involving their soldiers.
The boys, aged seven and eight, were shot dead on Thursday morning as they tended cattle in Oruzgan province in Afghanistan where Australian soldiers were fighting back after a Taliban attack.
Defence force chief General David Hurley offered his condolences to their families, but said it was too early to say how it happened or who was responsible.
But the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it took full responsibility.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has been briefed on the incident, declined to comment on Sunday, saying she would leave any commentary to General Hurley.
"I'm not going to deal with the details of the incident in question," she told reporters in Sydney.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said civilian deaths were a "horrible feature of war".
"It is absolutely tragic, absolutely tragic whenever we get civilian casualties of war," he told reporters on Sunday.
The ADF and ISAF are jointly investigating the incident in the northwestern province, but have only confirmed no Australian soldiers were injured.
A joint Afghan-ISAF team visited the district of Shahidi Hassas in Oruzgan on Saturday to investigate and meet with local leaders.
Australian soldiers from the Special Operations Task Group were conducting a routine liaison patrol.
ISAF said the troops had opened fire at what they believed were insurgent forces.
"We deeply regret that the International Security Assistance Forces were responsible for the unintended death of two young Afghan boys during the operation," General Hurley said in a statement.
He said Australian personnel immediately reported the incident to Afghan government officials and military leaders.
"It is premature to make any determination about how the incident occurred or who was responsible," General Hurley added.
ISAF expressed its "deep regret" at the civilian casualties.
"I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed," ISAF commander General Joseph Dunford said in a statement.
"I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed, as well as for the community in which they lived.
"We take full responsibility for this tragedy."
General Hurley said defence took seriously the issue of civilian casualties and that soldiers operated under a strict set of rules to minimise unintended deaths and injuries.
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