UP to 200 Australian special forces troops will be sent back to Afghanistan within weeks to battle resurgent Taliban.
March 24, 2007 12:00am
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A "scoping team" returned from the troubled country this week and its recommendations could be in the hands of Prime Minister John Howard and his Cabinet as early as next week.
The force is already "worked up" and standing by ready to move.
The Diggers will be flown to a secret staging base in the region before deploying by air to Afghanistan.
At least six special forces vehicles and other equipment are already in the Middle East.
They were left behind at the Australian base in an unidentified Gulf country when the last task group returned home in September.
The Government withdrew the 200-strong special forces task group just before the winter freeze set in.
With spring now in full swing, Taliban fighters are establishing footholds in areas cleaned out by the Diggers last year.
That operation in Oruzgan province, close to the Australian base at Tarin Khowt, resulted in the fiercest fighting Australian troops have engaged in since the Vietnam War.
A dozen Diggers were wounded during the clashes and several were awarded high-level gallantry medals.
The new force will again be a mixture of Sydney-based commandos and troops from the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment.
More on link
March 24, 2007 12:00am
Article Link
A "scoping team" returned from the troubled country this week and its recommendations could be in the hands of Prime Minister John Howard and his Cabinet as early as next week.
The force is already "worked up" and standing by ready to move.
The Diggers will be flown to a secret staging base in the region before deploying by air to Afghanistan.
At least six special forces vehicles and other equipment are already in the Middle East.
They were left behind at the Australian base in an unidentified Gulf country when the last task group returned home in September.
The Government withdrew the 200-strong special forces task group just before the winter freeze set in.
With spring now in full swing, Taliban fighters are establishing footholds in areas cleaned out by the Diggers last year.
That operation in Oruzgan province, close to the Australian base at Tarin Khowt, resulted in the fiercest fighting Australian troops have engaged in since the Vietnam War.
A dozen Diggers were wounded during the clashes and several were awarded high-level gallantry medals.
The new force will again be a mixture of Sydney-based commandos and troops from the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment.
More on link
