NZ minister's nephew killed serving in Afghanistan

WELLINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) A nephew of New Zealand's defence minister has been killed in Afghanistan while serving with the US Army, the minister said in a statement today.

Lieutenant Matthew Ferrara, who was born in the United States and held dual New Zealand citizenship, was killed in an ambush along with five other soldiers, Defence Minister Phil Goff said.

Ferrara graduated from the US Military Academy in 2005 and had been serving in Afghanistan for about five months.

New Zealand, which currently has 122 military personnel in Afghanistan, has not lost any defence force members in the country.

REUTERS RJ KP1023