New Zealand SAS Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

A New Zealand special forces soldier has been shot dead in Afghanistan while taking part in an operation against insurgents near the capital Kabul.

Defense force chief Lieutenant General Rhys Jones said the troopers were taking part in an operation on September 28 to execute arrest warrants at a compound in Wardak Province believed to be sheltering would-be suicide bombers.

The soldier is the third New Zealander and the second member of the elite Special Air Services (SAS) unit to be killed in Afghanistan this year.

New Zealand has about 40 SAS troops based in Kabul and a separate task force carrying out reconstruction work in the central Bamiyan Province.

compiled from agency reports