Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan

An Australian soldier became his nation's second combat casualty in Afghanistan when he was shot dead by Taliban fighters Thursday, Australia's defense chief said.

The elite Special Air Service Regiment soldier was part of a patrol in the southern province of Uruzgan when he was wounded by small-arms fire, Defense Chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told reporters in Canberra, the national capital.

"A coalition helicopter immediately responded to a call for assistance from the Australian patrol and evacuated the soldier to a nearby medical facility," Houston said.

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of his mates and the aeromedical team, the soldier succumbed to his wounds," he added.

The family of the soldier, whose name has not been released, had been informed, Houston said.

Further details of the operation would not be released as it was ongoing, he said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the soldier's death would be felt "very keenly" by his friends and family, but that he "died serving the cause of liberty and freedom."

A soldier killed by a roadside bomb in the same province on Oct. 8, Trooper David Pearce, 41, was the first Australian combat casualty in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

Australia has almost 1,000 troops serving in Afghanistan and another 1,600 in and around Iraq.