The bodies of three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan have begun their return journey to New Zealand.
Bagram Air Base came under rocket attack last night in the hours before a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules departed with the three Kiwi soldiers.
The rocket strike, believed to have been aimed at US military officials, did not affect the ramp ceremony or flight carrying the New Zealand troops, a Defence Force spokeswoman said.
Corporal Luke Tamatea, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker and Private Richard Harris will be flown to Australia before a New Zealand Air Force Hercules brings them home.
Another ramp ceremony will be held upon their arrival in Christchurch tomorrow.
Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Rhys Jones said there had been "many offers of support and expressions of condolence from our friends in the wider international military community".
The three troops were killed on Sunday when a roadside bomb destroyed their Humvee in Bamiyan province.
New Zealand's military toll in Afghanistan stands at 10.
The Taleban has claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on the Bagram Air Field overnight.
A rocket hit the C-17 military transport plane of US Army General Martin Dempsey, who was in Afghanistan to discuss the state of the 10-year-old war, AP reported.
- Kieran Campbell of APNZ
