A TALIBAN leader has accused Australian special forces troops of killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan.
The claims come just a day after Special Forces commander Major General Michael Hindmarsh praised the work of Australian soldiers in a battle in a small Afghanistan valley.
Major General Hindmarsh talked about the brave action of Australian troops during the 10-day action involving 500 coalition forces in Oruzgan province.
He said the battle involved a small Australian force virtually surrounded for more than six hours by a couple of hundred enemy hell-bent on scoring an early and decisive victory.
However, in an interview with an Afghani journalist recorded on behalf of the ABC, Taliban commander Mullah Mohammad accused the SAS soldiers and Australian commandos of killing innocent civilians during clashes.
"They caused a lot of damage and killed a lot of villagers, ordinary people, the Taliban didn't received a lot of casualties," he said.
Mullah Mohammad dismissed the idea that Australian soldiers are trying to make the area safer for residents.
"We won't let them be based here. They are our enemies, they are no different to the Americans," he said.
Mullah Mohammad also claimed the Taliban still had a force of up to 6000 guerrillas to fight to remove Australian soldiers from Afghan soil.
However, the commander of the Australian deployment, Lieutenant Colonel Mick Ryan, said Australian troops were just trying to help rebuild the area.
"The Australian soldiers are here to help the people of Oruzgan. Australian soldiers are here to help develop the basic infrastructure and that's what we are here to do."