The Australian Defence Force has released the names of all five diggers killed in action on Thursday — the nation's heaviest day of military losses since the Vietnam War.
Five diggers were killed in two separate incidents, bringing the total number of Australian deaths in Afghanistan to 38.
A rogue Afghan soldier shot dead three Australians at close range and two more died in an unrelated helicopter crash.
Julia Gillard has defended Australia's role in Afghanistan, saying: "This is a war with a purpose and a war with an end."