Three Diggers wounded by bomb in Afghanistan save

THREE Australian soldiers have been wounded by a roadside bomb in southwest Afghanistan.

The special operations soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED), which detonated midway through a mission on Thursday in northern Helmand, the Defence Department said.

Two of the soldiers suffered serious blast and fragmentation wounds in the incident.

Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said the men were in a satisfactory medical condition.

The third soldier suffered minor wounds and is likely to return to full duties soon.

The two seriously wounded soldiers will return to Australia in the coming days, possibly through the Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre in Germany.

Two coalition soldiers were also wounded in the attack.