KABUL - Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard on Sunday made a surprise visit to Afghanistan and met with Australian troops stationed here. The Australian Premier also met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
She flew into Trinkowt of Kandahar province to share a barbecue lunch with some of the 1,550 Australian soldiers stationed in the southern Camp Holland base.

Her visit came just days after three Australian soldiers were killed when an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire at a base in southern Kandahar province.

Seven other soldiers were wounded in the incident, which was Australia's worst since 2010 with three commandos killed in a helicopter crash.

"I wanted to spend some time trying to see this place through your eyes as we are planning the next phase of what happens here in Afghanistan," she said.

"I thought it was important to come and touch base and to see what is happening here and to hear directly from you about what the world looks like through your eyes," she added.

She held talks with coalition commanders and local Afghan officials before going on to meet President Karzai in Kabul.