Australian PM says to continue supporting Afghanistan after 2014

The visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday said that the country will continue supporting Afghanistan after 2014 when the NATO-led coalition forces leave the country. "The Australian Prime Minister in a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai today reaffirmed her country's support for Afghanistan after 2014 particularly in the field of health, education and training of Afghan security forces," the Karzai's office said in a statement. Gillard paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where more than 1, 550 Australian soldiers are stationed to fight Taliban-led insurgency of more than a decade. The two leaders also discussed the so-called green-on-blue insider attacks, when Afghan security forces or gunmen in their uniform turned their weapons against their NATO partners, the statement added. A man in Afghan army uniform shot dead three Australian soldiers with the NATO-led coalition in southern Uruzgan province, where majority of the Australian forces are deployed, on Aug. 29. Up to 52 NATO and U.S. soldiers have been killed in such attacks in 2012.