Britney Spears' ex-lover killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan leaving pop star "devastated" 

Britney Spears' ex-lover killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan leaving pop star "devastated"

Pilot John Sundahl, who was shot down while flying a helicopter from Kabul, dated Britney in 2007, and has been credited with helping her beat her drink problems

Tragedy: John Sundahl's death has left Britney Spears devastated

A hero pilot and former lover of Britney Spears , who helped her quit booze, has been killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

John Sundahl, 44, was shot down flying a helicopter from the capital Kabul where he had been working for several months as a private contractor ferrying officials across the war-torn country.

His devastated brother Karl said: “It’s heartbreaking – John went there to try to repair the country.

“He was trying to help people, he would often say that the country was in chaos.”

Britney, 33, dated John in 2007 after they met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Los Angeles and she has credited him with helping her beat her drink problems.

Hero: John Sundahl was shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan

At one stage the pair were also rumoured to be engaged, though the singer’s ­representative denied it at the time.

They remained friends after their romance ended but were said to have reignited their relationship last summer.

Yesterday a source close to Britney – who has sons Jayden James, eight, and Sean Preston, nine, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, 36 – said: “She is devastated. Britney thought he was a lovely man.”

John once told how he had warned Britney that she would die unless she stopped drinking.

He revealed in an ­interview: “I told her, ‘If you fall off the wagon I don’t think you’ll live. I told her, ‘If you don’t want to get sober for yourself, do it for your kids’.

“She truly wants to stop what she’s doing, and she has changed her life in another direction. She doesn’t get drunk every night and pass out.”

Meltdown: John Sundahl is said to have helped Britney through a turbulent time

Speaking from his home in Los Angeles, his brother Karl told how John died.

He said: “John was on a journey from Kabul when he was shot at and killed.

“We were told by the State that John had died, they told us the Taliban did it.

“This is just awful. My family are heartbroken, my parents are elderly so this is very tough for them, and all of us.

“John was still good friends with Britney, he talked to her regularly. They dated for a while but always kept in touch afterwards.”

John helped singer Britney through her darkest time as she had a public meltdown and was pictured shaving her head.

Killers: Taliban fighters like those pictured here are said to have shot down John\'s helicopter

John’s body was repatriated to the US last week and a small family funeral was held at a Buddhist temple in LA.

Karl said: “We had a really small funeral, it was what John would have wanted.

“There were only 11 of us there, he was a Buddhist so we had it at a temple in Chinatown, Los Angeles and he has been buried at a private location.”

Britney, who is half-way through a two-year stint with her Piece of Me show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, is now dating TV writer and producer Charlie Ebersol.

She split from previous lover David Lucado when she discovered he had allegedly cheated on her, which he has denied.

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