Five Australian servicemen died in Afghanistan in two separate incidents within 24 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, marking the heaviest loss of life for the Australian Defense Force in a day since the Vietnam War, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, quoting ADF officers.
Three soldiers died in a so-called green-on-blue incident when a gunman in an Afghan Army uniform opened fire on them at a base 20 kilometers from Tarin Kowt in Uruzgai Province. Two other soldiers were injured.
Two other Australians died when a U.S. Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopter crashed on Thursday morning in the neighboring Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard has broken off a visit to the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands, and is returning to Australia for briefings on the incidents.
''I believe this is the most losses in combat since the days of the Vietnam war and the battle on Long Tan,'' she said before leaving the islands.
Afghan soldiers and police have killed 45 International Security Assistance Force personnel so far this year.
The number of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since February 2002 has now reached 38, the paper said.
