Posted at 7:53am on 13 Nov 2007
Defence Minister's nephew killed in action in Afghanistan:
New Zealand Defence Minister Phil Goff is on special leave and will travel to the United States for the funeral of his nephew who was killed in action in Afghanistan at the weekend.
Lieutenant Matthew Ferrara, 24, had dual citizenship and was serving in the US army.
He was killed in a Taliban ambush, with eight other American and Afghan soldiers.
Lieutenant Ferrara was part of a United States and Afghan patrol returning after a meeting with village elders in the remote Nuristan province at the weekend.
A CNN correspondent in Afghanistan says the patrol was fired upon by a large group, and the attack lasted around an hour.

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