A coroner’s inquest has accused the Australian military of failing to protect its troops in Afghanistan, saying the 2012 deaths of three Australian soldiers could have been prevented if proper measures had been taken to tighten security at their base.

John Lock, the deputy coroner in the Australian state of Queensland, released the findings on Tuesday after an inquest into the deaths of the soldiers. The 34-page report was concluded in June.

The coroner’s finding revealed that the three Australian soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier as the Australian army’s top brass at the respective base failed to pass down an order for tighter security.

Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate were fatally shot by Afghan National Army Sergeant Hekmatullah in August 2012 while on a mentoring mission at a small patrol base in the southern province Uruzgan.

The Australian soldiers were reportedly gunned down while relaxing at their patrol base north of Tarin Kowt.

Lock said that the deadly attack may not have happened if the security recommendation from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had been passed down to the platoon level.

The leadership team at the base made “personal errors of judgment on the ground,” Lock found, adding “the greater readiness of the platoon could have provided more opportunity to take immediate defensive action, which could have prevented at least some of the deaths.”

The coroner also said that a “guardian angels” system – in which more than one armed guard are present whenever soldiers were mentoring local troops – should be used to prevent such incidents.

In a Tuesday statement, the Australian military acknowledged Lock’s findings, saying, “Where a review or inquiry identifies safety or security issues, Defense will take action to address these issues.”

According to Lock, Hekmatullah fled the scene of the deadly attack, and was later arrested in Pakistan on October 2, 2013. He had been found guilty of murder and sentenced to death; however, Lock said it was not clear whether the sentence had been carried out.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but insecurity still remains across the country.

US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan last December; but forces, mostly from the US, remain for purported training and counter-terrorism operations.