Military faulted in deaths of 3 soldiers

The deaths of three Australian soldiers killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan may have been prevented had the military passed down a NATO order to tighten security, a coroner found on Tuesday.

Sapper James Martin, Private Robert Poate and Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic were shot dead by Afghan National Army Sergeant Hekmatullah in August 2012 at a small patrol base in southern Uruzgan province.

Deputy Coroner John Lock in the state of Queensland said an order from NATO's International Security Assistance Force to increase protection for troops after a spate of insider attacks was not passed down to the platoon level.