Australian soldier killed by small arms fire

It is with deep regret the Australian Defence Force announces the death of Corporal Mathew Hopkins during operations in Afghanistan.

Corporal Hopkins was serving with the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) in Afghanistan when he was killed while conducting a patrol near Kakarak when he and his team were engaged by a group of around 20 Taliban on Monday 16 March, 2009.

Twenty-one-year-old Corporal Hopkins was a valued member of the Darwin-based 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

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