Coalition forces have killed the Afghan rogue soldier who shot Australian Lance Corporal Andrew Jones in Afghanistan late last month.

Lance Corporal Jones, an Army cook, was shot four times by the soldier, named as Shafied Ullah, as he was walking in front of his accommodation at Combat Outpost Mashal in the Chora Valley near Tarin Kowt.

Lance Corporal Jones died shortly after being shot.

Ullah was fired at by another Afghan serviceman as he fled the scene but the shot missed and a manhunt was launched.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith today said Ullah was killed during a joint operation between US special forces and Afghan troops near his home village in the Khowst province of eastern Afghanistan.

He says there was a "limited Australian involvement" in the operation that cornered the killer but he refused to go into detail.

"The Chief of the Defence Force in future may be able to provide more detail, but at present we are confirming Shafied Ullah's death and confirming the fact it was a coalition special forces operation," Mr Smith said.

The Minister says Ullah's brother, who was with him when he was killed, has been detained and is being interrogated to shed light on why his brother shot Lance Corporal Jones.

"Obviously, we would have preferred that Shafied Ullah was captured to enable interrogation to occur as to the circumstances surrounding his murder of Lance Corporal Jones, but Shafied Ullah placed himself in a position where he was a direct threat to special forces, and as a consequence of the resulting firefight or gunfire he was killed," he said.

Chief of Defence Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston says despite intentions to detain Ullah, his death could not be avoided.

"I understand from reporting received this morning that Shafied Ullah drew a pistol when confronted by the coalition special forces team and was shot and killed," Air Chief Marshal Houston said in a statement.

Mr Smith says all of the evidence "points conclusively" to the guilt of Ullah as the murderer, and that he was the man killed by US special forces.

"He was essentially tracked down as a result of intelligence. He was tracked to his home province, the province of Khowst, as a result of intelligence work," he said.

"Andrew Jones' family have been advised of this outcome earlier today and they've asked that their privacy be respected.

"While this may come as some solace... it will of course be a terrible reminder to the family of Lance Corporal Jones of his tragic death."

Chapter closed

Air Chief Marshal Houston says Ullah's death closes a chapter in the tragic death of Lance Corporal Jones.

"Across the Coalition and the Afghan National Security Forces there has been tremendous efforts directed towards bringing the man suspected of the shooting to justice, and for that support I personally thank General Petraeus and General Karimi," he said.

"While it gives me no great pleasure that Shafied Ullah is dead, I am pleased that this man no longer poses a threat."

Lance Corporal Jones was on his first deployment to Afghanistan and was serving with the Mentoring Task Force, which is involved with training the Afghan army.

The Victorian-based soldier was one of two Australian servicemen who died in Afghanistan on May 30, in what Defence Force chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston described as a "very bad day".

Defence is investigating the shooting of Lance Corporal Jones.

Lance Corporal Jones left behind his parents, two younger siblings and girlfriend, who are receiving support from Defence.

His family said it was in "deep mourning at the loss of our son, brother and boyfriend".

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the nation's thoughts are with Lance Corporal Jones' family.

Ms Gillard says while it is a small amount of justice it can never take away the grief his family would feel from his death.