Two Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

SYDNEY - Two Australian soldiers have been killed in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, the Defence Force said Tuesday.

The soldiers are the first Australians to die in Afghanistan in 11 months.

Their deaths bring campaign deaths to 13. The two were among 10 NATO soldiers killed on Monday.

Australia, which joined the US-led invasion in 2001 to oust the Taliban administration, has 1,550 troops in restive Uruzgan.