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| Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle |
Two Australian soldiers serving with Mentoring Task Force – 3 were wounded overnight (Australian Eastern Time) when the Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle they were travelling in struck an insurgent-laid Improvised Explosive Device.
The blast left one Australian soldier with serious wounds and another suffering minor wounds.
Acting Chief of Joint Operations Rear Admiral David Johnston said the wounded soldiers were treated by their patrol mates at the scene before being quickly evacuated by helicopter for specialist care.
“Both soldiers have received immediate trauma care in the Role 2 Medical Facility at Multi-National Base Tarin Kot and both were later moved to Kandahar for further treatment,” Rear Admiral Johnston said.
“The seriously wounded soldier will move to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for specialist assessment in the coming days, and we will have a clearer understanding of his prognosis for recovery after that.”
The incident occurred during a routine Mentoring Task Force activity in the Mirabad Valley region of Uruzgan province yesterday afternoon (local time).
Both soldiers were travelling in the Bushmaster when the Improvised Explosive Device detonated and they suffered wounds consistent with the concussive force of an explosive blast.
The families of both soldiers have been notified and are receiving support from Defence.
Rear Admiral Johnston said the incident came a short time after another Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle struck a separate insurgent-laid Improvised Explosive Device in the same general area.
“No soldiers have been reported wounded in the initial strike although the Bushmaster did sustain some damage,” Rear Admiral Johnston.
Both damaged vehicles have been recovered to a nearby patrol base.
This incident increases the number of soldiers wounded in action in Afghanistan this year to 19. 184 soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan since 2001.