Australian PM warns of more casualties in Afghanistan

CANBERRA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australian forces will suffer more casualties in Afghanistan but troops will remain in the fightfor the "long haul," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said here Wednesday night.

He said while progress in the war in Afghanistan was slow and subject to setbacks, Australia's involvement in the conflict was critical.

Rudd made the comments during an address at the War Memorial in Canberra after an Australian special forces commando was killed and four of his comrades wounded in a firefight with Taliban forces near their base in southern Oruzgan province.

Earlier in the year, Rudd warned the security situation in the war-torn country remained "grim" and the year ahead would "be difficult, dangerous and bloody".

"There will be more casualties," he warned Wednesday again, as this was a dangerous theater of operations. But he said the mission was important for Australia.

"It is critical because it is clearly in our national interest," he said.

There were two compelling reasons for Australia's commitment to Afghanistan, Rudd said.

The first was to prevent the spread of terrorism by directly taking on this threat and helping Afghanistan to rebuild itself into a more peaceful and stable state, and the second was demonstrating Australia's capacity to play an active role in enhancing international security.

Australia has 1,100 troops in Afghanistan, including special forces and engineers operating in restive Oruzgan province in the country's south-central region. Six Australian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2002, including five in the past year.