This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8204458.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Afghan guard was due to come home | Afghan guard was due to come home |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The widow of a County Londonderry man killed in an ambush in Afghanistan at the weekend has said he was coming home early to see his family. | The widow of a County Londonderry man killed in an ambush in Afghanistan at the weekend has said he was coming home early to see his family. |
| Stuart Murray, 40, from Ballykelly, was working for a private security firm in Herat in the north west of the country. | Stuart Murray, 40, from Ballykelly, was working for a private security firm in Herat in the north west of the country. |
| Mr Murray, a former Royal Irish Regiment soldier had served for 21 years in the Army. He was working in Afghanistan for the second time. | Mr Murray, a former Royal Irish Regiment soldier had served for 21 years in the Army. He was working in Afghanistan for the second time. |
| Sheena Murray said he was preparing to leave the country when he was killed. | Sheena Murray said he was preparing to leave the country when he was killed. |
| It is not known when his body will be brought home. | It is not known when his body will be brought home. |
| This is a tremendous loss - he was a real family man and a wonderful father to his two young children Gerry MullanLocal councillor | |
| Mr Murray was due to leave the country on Sunday but had decided to leave a day early, Mrs Murray said. | Mr Murray was due to leave the country on Sunday but had decided to leave a day early, Mrs Murray said. |
| Local SDLP councillor Gerry Mullan, a family friend, said Mr Murray had been keeping his early return a secret from his wife because he wanted to surprise her. | |
| "He was due to enjoy a huge family birthday bash as he had celebrated his 40th birthday last Wednesday - this makes it even more tragic," he said. | |
| Mr Mullan said Mr Murray had recently retired after a long career in the Army and had been on a six-week training course in Afghanistan. | |
| "This is a tremendous loss - he was a real family man and a wonderful father to his two young children," he said. | |
| Fr Edward Gallagher, who has been comforting Mr Murray's widow and children, said the news was just beginning to sink in. | |
| "A very difficult aspect of this is that Stuart's death has occurred halfway across the world so there's the distance involved and perhaps the length of time it will take to bring Stuart home again," he said. | |
| He said he expected a representative of the security company would speak to Mr Murray's widow on Monday to give further details about the circumstances of his death. | |
| Fr Gallagher described Mr Murray as "a larger than life character who loved his family and his work". | |
| Mr Murray was a serving member of the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland and held the rank of Staff Sergeant. | |
| It had been reported that he was working for ArmorGroup but a spokeswoman for the firm told the BBC that was not the case. | It had been reported that he was working for ArmorGroup but a spokeswoman for the firm told the BBC that was not the case. |