US war zone survivor killed

American Ian Deutch survived a recent tour of duty in Afghanistan, identifying Taleban targets for artillery strikes. But he didn't make it through his second day back on the job as a rural Nevada sheriff's deputy.

Deutch was gunned down by a man wielding an assault rifle in a casino parking lot about 100km west of Las Vegas.

"The irony of spending a year overseas in a combat zone and then to come back and have this happen is, you know, tragic," said Lieutenant Colonel Scott Cunningham, a Las Vegas resident and commanding officer of Deutch's guard unit.