Fourth Australian soldier in two weeks dies in Afghanistan

An Australian soldier has been shot and killed, the 27th to die in a decade in Afghanistan and the fourth in just over a fortnight as the annual summer fighting season escalates.

Defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the 23-year-old soldier, a combat engineer from the Holsworthy, Sydney-based Incident Response Regiment, was killed during a special forces operation to destroy a major insurgent munitions supply dump in Helmand province.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said the soldier's family did not want his name to be released.

The defence chief, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition leader Tony Abbott all extended their condolences to the soldier's family and friends.

Ms Gillard said the nation's resolve was being tested with the fourth death of a soldier in Afghanistan in such a short period.

"But it will not waver as we work to complete our mission in Afghanistan," she told reporters in Alice Springs.

"I can promise you this - Afghanistan is not an endless war and it is not a war without a purpose."

Mr Abbott said it was a hard and bitter day for the soldier's family but Australians should also be proud of him and his comrades.

"It's very important that all Australians grieve with the families of all of our soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan," he told reporters in Brisbane.

"We need to understand, though, that there is no such thing as casualty-free combat. What our troops are doing in Afghanistan is important for our nation, it's important for the whole world."

The spike in casualties is comparable to a similar bad period in June last year when five soldiers died in a fortnight.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said he understood community concern about the recent losses.

"But I would say to the public we have just had the most successful winter we have ever had," he said.

"We are in a much better tactical position than we have ever been before. We are making a difference.

"The Taleban in Oruzgan is totally disrupted and that's because of the effort of our people working very effectively with the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

"Unfortunately along the way we will lose soldiers."

Air Chief Marshal Houston said the soldier was killed on Monday night when a combined Australian Special Operations Task Group and Afghan National Police patrol was involved in an 80-minute firefight with a large insurgent force.

The patrol was deployed to an area of north Helmand province known to be an insurgent distribution and supply cell.

That was confirmed when the patrol located the largest munitions cache discovered by Australian forces this year.

It contained 70 anti-personnel mines, grenade launchers and ammunition, assault rifles, communications equipment and components for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices.

The patrol came under fire from two locations and the cache was destroyed.

The soldier was shot by insurgents and his mates came quickly to him under heavy fire, administering first aid and calling for an aerial evacuation, but he could not be saved.

- AAP