Mr Stephenson said the operation to kill Kalta was carried out by in ternational forces and his death would be a
major blow for the Taliban.
"He was clearly, by all accounts, a very resourceful, a very well informed insurgent leader, who played a very active role in both Baghlan and Bamiyan.''
However, it is still to be confirmed whether he was directly responsible for the roadside bombing which killed
the three New Zealand soldiers.
Mrs McSweeney, from Kawerau, said if Kalta was confirmed as the person responsible for her son's death it would
make it easier to process her thoughts about the killing.
"We are still waiting to hear from the liaison officer about the confirmation.''
Mrs McSweeney said her family heard about the death the same way everyone else did, through national news.
Prime Minister John Key confirmed this morning Kalta had died during last week's airstrike in Afghanistan.
Mr Key said on TVNZ's Breakfast show New Zealand personnel were not involved in the attack on Kalta but coalition forces could have used intelligence gathered by New Zealand SAS troops.
"We weren't physically involved but it was almost certainly intelligence that New Zealand people have been gathering over there.''
Corporal Tamatea, who died at the age of 31, grew up in Te Teko and joined the army at 19, shortly after leaving
Edgecumbe College in 1996.
He is survived by his four young girls Kyla, Kaytlen, Nikita and Keira.
_ additional reporting APNZ