Latest from Special Air Service (SAS)

The body of Private Kirifi Mila, killed in a road accident in Afghanistan, has begun its journey home to New Zealand after being farewelled from Kiwi Base overnight.

The body of Private Kirifi Mila, killed in a motor accident while serving in Afghanistan on Tuesday, is expected to return to New Zealand next week, the Defence Force says.

The death of a soldier in Afghanistan is at least the ninth time in 12 years a NZ soldier has been killed in a vehicle accident.

The soldier killed when the vehicle he was in rolled down a cliff in Afghanistan was the sixth New Zealander - the fourth in the past year - to die in the country since the conflict began.

The soldier killed in a road crash in Afghanistan was a popular member of his unit who will be sorely missed, the New Zealand Defence Force says.

The New Zealand solider killed in a vehicle crash in Afghanistan has been named. The Defence Force said he was a popular member of his unit and well known as a 'colourful character'.

John Key says he is confident security for the Rugby World Cup will not be compromised by extending the deployment of the SAS in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister John Key has confirmed the New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) deployment to Afghanistan will be extended for another year from April - but it will be around half the size of the current deployment.

NZ SAS soldiers fired weapons in self-defence when they killed two security guards in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, an investigation by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and the NZ Defence Force has found.

Major General Lou Gardiner, the Chief of Army for three years until he retired last year after 39 years service, said he would back what the SAS troops said over anyone else.

The Defence Force insists that New Zealand SAS troops in Afghanistan involved in a fatal shootout were fired upon first.

The NZ Defence Force says SAS soldiers were acting in self defence when they led a raid on a factory in Afghanistan in which two soldiers were killed.

New Zealand soldiers have been accused of being involved in a botched raid on a factory in Afghanistan which left two workers dead.

Labour's defence spokesman Pete Hodgson says it is 'sad' the SAS is fundraising for their families.

Defence Minister Wayne Mapp has ordered an immediate inquiry after reports businessmen paid for sessions with the defence force's elite Special Air Service (SAS) troops.