Sydney: The only Australian soldier to have died in the war in Iraq was killed by an "irresponsibly self-inflicted" gunshot wound, a jury at an inquest into his death found today.

Private Jake Kovco was shot in his Baghdad barracks on April 22, 2006 while two other soldiers were in the room. He sustained a single shot to his head from his service pistol. The soldier's mother, Judy Kovco, had requested the inquest, seeking answers as to how the 25-year-old married father of two had died and suggesting the possibility of a military cover-up.

But after hearing almost two months of evidence, the six-person jury found that Kovco had pulled the trigger. The jury said the "gunshot wound had been irresponsibly self-inflicted by Private Kovco and that Private Kovco disregarded the possible consequences of danger at that time."

The panel said that while suicide was unlikely, it could not say whether Kovco was aware his gun was loaded at the time of his death. "On the balance of probabilities, he did not intentionally take his own life," they said.

The finding follows that of an earlier military inquiry, which concluded the soldier shot himself while "skylarking" with his gun. Yesterday, coroner Mary Jerram told the jury that while there were some flaws in the military investigation into Kovco's death, she did not believe these had altered the evidence. Kovco is the only Australian soldier to die in Iraq since the former government of conservative leader John Howard committed itself to the war in early 2003.

Source : PTI