Defence is aware of a US investigation report into the death of Afghan journalist Ahmad Omid Khpalwak during the response to a coordinated insurgent attack in Tarin Kot city on 28 July 2011.
An Australian media report published on 15 January 2012 has selectively used observations from individual US soldiers to imply that Defence did not accurately report details of the incident. This is incorrect.
No Australian forces were involved in the immediate response to the attacks. A small number of ADF personnel responded shortly after the incident and an ADF security platoon provided security at the incident site overnight. Defence announced this limited support at the time and it is confirmed in the US report.
Defence’s media releases concerning this incident are available at:
29 July 2011:
http://news.defence.gov.au/2011/07/29/insurgent-attacks-in-uruzgan-fail-to-kill-officials/
30 July 2011:
http://news.defence.gov.au/2011/07/30/update-on-insurgent-attacks-in-uruzgan/
Issued by Ministerial and Executive Coordination and Communication,
Department of Defence,
Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999 Fax: 02 6265 6946
