The defense forces chief says another Australian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, the second in days and the 10th overall, AP reported. Australia is a key U.S. ally in the Afghan war, and while Australia's death toll is low compared to America's, every new death triggers fresh debate about how long the country will keep its troops there. Armed forces head Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston said late Thursday the soldier died after a makeshift bomb exploded as he tried to defuse it. The soldier was not identified and defense officials declined to say exactly when the death occurred, saying operations in the region were ongoing. The death came just four days after an Australian soldier was killed in a gunbattle with suspected Taliban forces in Uruzgan province on Monday.
