Dwayne M. Kelley

Friday, June 27 2008 @ 07:23 AM EDT

1010 Wins -- NEW JERSEY (AP) -- A decorated New Jersey state trooper was killed in Iraq while serving on his third tour of duty as an Army reservist, state police announced Wednesday.

Detective Sgt. 1st Class Dwayne Kelley, an Army major, died in the bombing of a Baghdad district council building on Tuesday, state police Capt. Al Della Fave said.

Kelley, who spoke Arabic and served in the state police counterterrorism unit, had volunteered for his latest tour, which began in November, Della Fave said.

``He touched many lives throughout the law enforcement and military communities, and he will be deeply missed by us all,'' said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, state police superintendent.

As part of his counterterrorism efforts, Kelley interviewed detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Fuentes said.

Kelley's honors included the Essex County 200 Club Award for Valor, he said.

In Iraq, Kelley, 48, served in a military civil affairs unit working to restructure government and rebuild infrastructure, Della Fave said.

Tuesday's bombing in the Sadr City section of Baghdad killed 10 people, including Kelley and three other Americans working to restore local government in the former Shiite militia stronghold.

The bomb went off inside a councilman's office ahead of an election to choose a new chairman of the council.

Kelley, of South Orange, was divorced and had remarried, and was the father of two children. He joined the state police in 1988.

The Department of Defense had not yet posted information on Kelley.


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