Two Australian contractors die in Iraq
Two Australian contractors killed in a roadside explosion in Iraq have been identified as a former Queensland police officer and a former Australian soldier.
A spokesman for the men's employer, BLP International, said one of the Australians killed was a 38-year-old man from north Queensland and the other a 34-year-old from south Queensland
A third Australian was injured in the blast.
A Filipino national was also injured.
The two men were killed when a second bomb hit the convoy there were travelling in near Baghdad, the federal government said.
"I am advised (the Australian man) has now been released from hospital," foreign affairs parliamentary secretary Greg Hunt told the Seven Network.
"(He has) a range of shrapnel and associated injuries and general blast. I understand his condition is reasonable."
The three Australians were part of a convoy making their way out of the war-torn country for holidays when their vehicle was struck by the blasts.
"My understanding is that they were in a vehicle, the vehicle was stopped by a first explosion, they transferred to second another vehicle and the second vehicle was then hit by some form of projectile," Mr Hunt said.
Six Australian contractors have now been killed in the Iraqi conflict.
Mr Hunt said the government could not stop private citizens working in Iraq, but had in place the strongest travel warning possible.
"There is the highest level of travel warning that we can issue, that we do issue, that sets out the fact that Iraq is an exceptionally dangerous place and we warn people not to travel there," Mr Hunt said.
"We understand that there are professional people who choose to take this and we're very sorry for their families that such a thing has happened.
"But it's people's individual choice."
The remains of the men are being transferred to a staging post in the Middle East for return to Australia.
Their names have not yet been formally released.
One of the employees had only just joined the company and the other had been working with BLP International since last year.
The attack happened 8km south of Baghdad as the group ended an eight-week rotation.
The privately-owned United Arab Emirates-based BLP International secured the lucrative contract to provide training services for the Iraqi National Police Service in 2004.
In a written statement the company said: "BLP International's largely Australian staff have provided training to over 20,000 Iraqi police officers since 2004.
"The staff comprise former Australian police officers who possess exceptional abilities to work cooperatively with the Iraqi officers to teach subject matter as diverse as police ethics, rule of law and operational procedure.
"... while we all understand the risks inherent in working in Iraq, the personal courage and dedication these men demonstrated on a daily basis is testament to their character not only as former police and military officers but as Australians."
One of the dead contractors has been described as a dedicated man and a good leader, by a friend who worked with him in the war torn country.
"Like a lot of the guys who went over there, obviously, you're in a war zone. There was an inherent risk of going to places like that, but he was a tremendous trainer and a good leader," the man, who wanted to be known only as Jim, told ABC Radio.
Jim said his friend had been in Iraq a little less than 12 months and had been due to return to Australia on rotation soon.
Asked whether he felt the money was worth the risk of working in Iraq, Jim said: "It's always in times like this you do a bit of self-examination and you'll say: 'No it isn't'. But at the time, you think you're doing the right thing. In fact you are doing the right thing.
"You are making a difference in a country that's totally in turmoil."
Jim said security contractors were always aware of the risks.
"It was one of those things that every time you made a road run and everything went well you'd wipe your forehead, say thank you very much and then move on to the next time.
"But you always knew in the back of your mind that that risk was there."
Jim said it was impossible to prepare for such attacks.
"Unfortunately, terrorists are very good at planning and waiting, and it's that old saying that they've only got to be right one per cent of the time and the rest of the world has got to be right 100 per cent of the time," he said.
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