Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Acorrding to ABC three Australian soldiers were killed and two wounded in Afghanistan after a man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire and another two Australian soldiers were killed in an unrelated helicopter crash, in what the nation's prime minister on Thursday called Australia's worst day in the ongoing war.

The first three soldiers were killed while relaxing at a base late Wednesday night, when a man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform opened fire on them with an automatic weapon at close range, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, vice chief of the Australian Defense Force, told reporters.

The assault occurred in southern Uruzgan province in the evening hours on Wednesday, a US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

About 1,500 Australian troops are deployed in the province as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).