Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan: military

March 19, 2009, SYDNEY (AFP) –

 An Australian soldier has been killed while trying to defuse an explosive device in Afghanistan, taking the nation's death toll in the war-torn country to 10, the military said Tuesday.

The soldier, the second Australian to die in Afghanistan this week, was killed when the improvised explosive device he was working on blew up, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told reporters.

"The soldier was highly skilled and very courageous," he said.

"He was an expert in countering IEDs and he lost his life trying to make the environment safe for his mates and local Afghans by neutralising the threat the device posed."

The soldier, who was not immediately named, was the 10th Australian to die in Afghanistan since 2002 and the ninth in little more than two years.

"The situation in Afghanistan remains very dangerous but the importance of our mission should not be overlooked," Houston said.

"These IEDs are indicative of the ruthlessness of the enemies we seek to defeat."

On Monday, Australia corporal Mathew Hopkins who was killed during a firefight with Taliban fighters.

A total of about 70,000 international troops are in Afghanistan and more than 290 foreign soldiers lost their lives in the war-torn country last year.

Australia has about 1,000 troops operating in Afghanistan, mostly in the southern province of Uruzgan.