SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's military chief on Wednesday cleared entertainer Tania Zaetta of allegations she had sex with soldiers in war-torn Afghanistan and said he would personally apologise to her. Zaetta, who has a budding Bollywood career, was named in a defence briefing note as having slept with elite special forces soldiers while on a concert tour at a military base in the Taliban stronghold of Uruzgan in April.Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told a parliamentary committee in Canberra the claim was baseless. "There was no substance to the allegations, and I will conclude the matter with a letter to the person in question," he said. "I will obviously apologise and express my deep regret about any hurt she has suffered."
Zaetta, 37, had denied the allegations which she described as "complete made-up lies". "(And) apart from being hurtful, it's damaging to a woman's career, to her reputation and I wish someone had come and asked me before there had been any documentation," she told Australian television last month.