Diggers 'killed 150 in Afghanistan'
AUSTRALIAN special forces troops have wiped out more than 150 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters during nine days of fierce fighting in southern Afghanistan.
The Australians from the Special Forces Task Group, with just six men injured in the battle, used superior weapons and overwhelming airborne fire support to overcome the enemy, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Codenamed Operation Perth, the hardest fighting took place in July during the search and destroy missions in the Chora district, about 40km north-east of the Australian base in southern Afghanistan.
During its 12 month deployment, the group has sustained 11 casualties, including several men seriously wounded.
One commando had part of his jaw blown off, another was shot in the buttocks and a SAS specialist was hit in the abdomen.
Several men will be awarded gallantry medals for their actions.
The commandos and SAS troopers are angry that the task group will not be replaced when it leaves later this month.
"It's not right to pull out. We shouldn't just go there for a shoot 'em up and then come home," one soldier told the newspaper.
The Daily Telegraph said it had learned details of the operation by accessing previously classified material about the campaign.
