Fed: Australian troops under attack again

AAP General News (Australia)
04-25-2007
Fed: Australian troops under attack again

By Jane Bunce and Max Blenkin

CANBERRA, April 25 AAP - Australian troops in Iraq have come under fire for the fifth
time in two days as they tried to recover an armoured vehicle destroyed during an earlier
roadside bomb attack.

The attacks on the Australians mark a serious upsurge in violence in the normally quiet
Dhi Qar province of southern Iraq.

Australia's commander in Iraq today blamed the attacks near An Nasariyah on Shi'ite
militia, possibly from the Mehdi Army of firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The latest incident came last night as an Australian patrol was sent to recover the
Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) destroyed in an attack on Monday, which left
three soldiers injured.

But a gun battle erupted as insurgents opened fire with small arms and fired a rocket
which hit the burned-out hulk of the ASLAV, the Department of Defence said today.

A second vehicle sustained minor damage, but no soldiers were injured.

Commander of Australian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Brigadier Michael Crane, said
the patrol was able to recover the damaged vehicle, but encountered "some nuisance small
arms and rocket fire on (the) way back to base".

He said there had been no warning before the attacks, but they came as no surprise.

Australian troops were attacked four times on Monday, including in the roadside bomb
attack which injured the three soldiers.

One soldier is expected to be flown back to Australia after suffering leg injuries in the attack.

The soldier has undergone surgery in a Baghdad hospital, and will be sent to Kuwait
for further treatment for burns, cuts and a broken ankle.

"I am going across to the international zone to visit him today but I understand that
he is recovering very well and I expect he will be heading home back to Australia in the
next couple of days," Brig Crane said.

A second soldier had returned to his unit after undergoing treatment for minor head
injuries at a Baghdad hospital, and a third was treated for fragment wounds and a broken
elbow but remained on duty.

Brig Crane said it was unlikely the perpetrators in the latest attack were Sunni insurgents
and agreed members of the Mehdi Army could have been responsible.

"It is not a traditionally Sunni strong base. It is probably more on the Shi'ite side
of things, although a little bit early for us to tell yet," Brig Crane said from Baghdad.

Brig Crane said there was a delicately balanced security situation between Iraqi provincial
authorities and the militias in Dhi Qar.

He said the recent attacks reflected the fact Australian troops had been more active
in the area lately.

Previously, they had been focusing on making the area around their Dhi Qar base more
secure and patrolling in neighbouring al-Muthanna province.

"As we have started to stretch our wings a bit I guess there is a little bit of a level
of resistance to that," he said.

"It is just obviously not the case yet that provincial authorities are absolutely in
control of that province."

Brig Crane said the troops were always careful but the difficulty with the northern
area of Dhi Qar province was the limited number of vehicle routes available through marshland.

He said the incident had not affected morale.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defence said troops were investigating the type of roadside
bomb used in the attack on the ASLAV.

A special Australian task force is working with explosives experts among its coalition
allies to develop new technologies, tactics and procedures to help counter the threat
of roadside bombs.

AAP jb/pv/sp/ks/bwl

KEYWORD: IRAQ AUST NIGHTLEAD (PIX AVAILABLE)

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