An emotional hospital-bed email has revealed how the heroics of a Kiwi soldier who saved the lives of two comrades under heavy Taleban gunfire were inspired by his fallen commander.

NZ's elite SAS troops have been involved in another firefight in Afghanistan, and once again press photographers have captured them in action.

John Key has revealed that 15 New Zealand SAS troops in Afghanistan were involved in a gun fight with "insurgents" on Friday.

A first-person account of the harrowing experience of combat in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

American, Afghan and British troops have seized the largest Afghan town controlled by the Taleban.

Ian D. Robinson treks through the wilderness at the edge of one of the world's danger zones.

British ministers ignored the military's warning that more time was needed before the invasion of Iraq, an inquiry hears.

A former Australian soldier has been sentence to death in Afghanistan for murdering an Afghan security guard and then accusing the Taliban for the crime.

The blanket secrecy over SAS operations has been ditched, with the Defence Force revealing that elite troopers recently helped capture bomb-makers in Kabul.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday defended his decision to reveal the identity of SAS soldier Willie Apiata