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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - Australia's political leaders took a break from election campaigning Wednesday to attend the funeral of the nation's first soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan.
Australia's commitment of troops fighting Taliban and al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan is not a major issue in the campaign, although its deployment to Iraq is deeply unpopular and contentious.
Prime Minister John Howard and Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd, who differ over Iraq but not Afghanistan, were among dignitaries who mourned Trooper David Pearce at a military funeral in Brisbane.
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