THE FAMILY of the former British soldier from Co Derry who was killed in Afghanistan last Saturday was yesterday still waiting for news of when his body will be returned home.
Stuart Murray (40), a father of two from Riverside Cottages in Ballykelly, was killed instantly when the vehicle he was travelling in was ambushed by Taliban militia close to his base in the Herat region of northwest Afghanistan.
Mr Murray, who left the British army in 2006 after 21 years of service, had been working for a private security company in Afghanistan. He was on the first stage of his journey home when the ambush, in which three of his colleagues were injured, took place.
It was his second term of duty in Afghanistan and the former Royal Fusiliers soldier left his base a day earlier than originally planned.
News of his death was given to his wife Sheena and their two children, Georgina (8) and Joshua (5), by two Territorial Army soldiers who called at the Murray family home on Saturday. Representatives of Mr Murray’s employers were due to meet with Mrs Murray last night or later today.
Meanwhile Fr Edward Gallagher, who knows the Murray family, said Mr Murray had planned to meet his wife and children on his arrival home at Belfast airport before going on a family day out to Belfast zoo. They had also planned to celebrate his 40th birthday which took place one week before he was killed.
“This is a terrible tragedy for Sheena and the two children . . . [they] have been numbed by what has happened to Stuart. As yet they don’t know the full circumstances in which he was killed. He was travelling to Kabul on the first leg of his journey home when this happened,” Fr Gallagher added.
Local SDLP councillor Gerry Mullan said the entire community sympathised with the Murray family. “I’ve known the family all my life,” Mr Mullan said. “Stuart’s family come from Aghanloo and they are very highly thought of.
“Stuart’s work rarely took him out of the safe compound where he was based. He had earned many promotions during his career in the army. He was dedicated to his work and even more dedicated to his family,” he added.