Apology after Afghan sex claims

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Australia's military has said sorry to Bollywood entertainer Tania Zaetta over allegations that she had sex with soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said he would personally apologise to her.

Ms Zaetta was named in a leaked memo as having slept with special forces soldiers while touring a military base in Uruzgan province in April.

Ms Zaetta, 37, had strenuously denied the allegations which she said were "complete made-up lies".

'Damaging'

Air Chief Marshal Houston told a parliamentary committee in Canberra that the claims were baseless.

"There was no substance to these 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."

Ms Zaetta told Australian television last month how upset she was.

"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 said.

Up until recently, the Australian Defence Force had refused to deny the claims, saying the scandal was the subject of an investigation.

Ms Zaetta (centre) is a popular figure among Australian forces

The leaked briefing note, known as a "hot issues brief", was prepared for Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and the Defence Department has said it will now try to find out how it ended up in the hands of a journalist.

Zaetta, who is of Australian and Italian origin, rose to prominence in Australia as the hostess of a game show Who Dares Wins - the motto of elite Special Air Service (SAS) forces troops serving in Afghanistan.

In recent years, she has appeared in a number of Bollywood productions, including a recent Charlie's Angels-style hit, Mr Black, Mr White.