The Australian Defence Force has confirmed that it is continuing to investigate alleged misconduct by Australian troops in Afghanistan.
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Fairfax Media understands that Australian troops are accused of mutilating the body of at least one Afghan man, believed to be an insurgent, by chopping off his hands during a joint Australian-Afghan operation in Zabul province on April 28, which left four Afghans dead.
It is alleged the Australians took the dead man's hands back to the Australian base at Tarin Kowt.
In a statement issued on Friday, ADF General David Hurley confirmed that the ADF contined to investigate an ''incident of potential misconduct'', but would not confirm the nature of the incident, given the investigation is not yet complete.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that while it was appropriate to wait for the investigation to be completed, he had ''full confidence in the chief of defence''.
''I have full confidence in the Australian Defence Force and I have full confidence in our men and women in uniform in Afghanistan,'' Mr Rudd said.
General Hurley announced in May that the ADF would investigate an incident of a "high-intensity, dangerous" operation involving Australian special operations troops and Afghan National Security Forces, in which four Afghans believed to be insurgents were killed.
At the time, General Hurley said: "An incident of potential misconduct during the operation has been raised through the internal national command chain.
''During the course of clearing the targeted area, the force element positively identified several armed insurgents moving to gain a tactical advantage and due to the threat posed, the combined ANSF and SOTG force element engaged and killed four insurgents.''
On Friday, General Hurley said that the ADF said it took reports of misconduct by Australian personnel ''very seriously''.
''The ADF, in co-operation with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), immediately commenced an investigation into this incident when the matter was reported.''
He said ISAF had informed the Afghan government of the investigation and said the ADF took ''all reasonable steps to ensure its operations do not breach Afghan customs or cause offence by inadvertently disrespecting religious beliefs or norms''.
''Members of the ADF operate under strict rules of engagement designed to protect our troops on operations, while ensuring that the actions of Australian forces are consistent with our obligations under Australian and international law in protecting the lives and property of the innocent.''
On May 8, US General Joseph Dunford, the commander of the international coalition said: ''ISAF will do a very thorough investigation and, if appropriate, we will take action against the personnel involved.
''We take all allegations of misconduct by our personnel very seriously.''
ISAF described the operation as a ''cordon and search'' action, looking for ''a Taliban facilitator'' in Daychopan district.
The Australian and Afghan soldiers seized an AK-47 assault rifle, a Makarov pistol and several components to be used for making improvised explosive devices, he said.
