The Australian soldier killed by a bomb in Afghanistan on Sunday has been named as Corporal Scott Smith, a special forces combat engineer.
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Corporal Smith, 24, was killed while searching a compound in Afghanistan's south during a joint operation with Afghan troops.
He was serving with the ADF's Special Operations Task Group, and served in the Special Operations Engineer Regiment, which works with SAS troopers and commandos and detects and defuses a variety of explosive and other dangers.
Corporal Smith, who was described by his unit as a "great junior leader", is survived by his partner, Liv, his parents, Katrina Paterson and Murray Smith, and sister Roxanne. He was born in the Barossa Valley in South Australia and joined the army in 2006.
He served in Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands and was also involved in the security operation around the visit of US President Barack Obama to Darwin in November last year.
He was previously deployed to Afghanistan in early 2010 and was only weeks from completing his latest deployment, which began in July.
"He [was] a genuine, honest and dedicated member who was probably one of the best junior non-commissioned officers that the unit has seen. His loss will be deeply felt," a Defence statement released this morning reads.
He is the 39th Australian soldier to have died during the 11-year war in Afghanistan.
Yesterday Prime Minister Julia Gillard, offered her condolences to Corporal Smith's family.
"My very loving thoughts are with them at this time of great stress and distress for them. My thoughts are also with his mates," she said.
