Australian military personnel in Baghdad have honoured the first Australian soldier to die in Iraq, Private Jake Kovco.
Members of the Australian Security Detachment in Baghdad and the head of Australian forces in Iraq gathered before dawn Iraqi time to commemorate their friend and colleague.
The Baghdad ceremony was timed to co-incide with Private Kovoco's funeral with full military honours in Briagolong in Victoria's east.
The officer commanding Private Kovco's regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mick Mumford, told the Australian ceremony he was a respected soldier.
"Jake was one of our most highly-trained paratroopers. A rifleman, a heavy weapons expert and a member of our sniper cell. he had reached the pinnacle of his trade. His role in Iraq was not to kill, but to protect, and his commander in Baghdad reports that he was a vital member of that team and that they are lesser for his loss."
Private Kovco died last week from a gunshot wound to the head while at the Australian barracks, but the exact circumstances of his death remain unclear.