AceShowbiz -

Britney Spears' former boyfriend John Sundahl has passed away. The private helicopter pilot who briefly dated the pop star following her meltdown in 2007 recently died after being gunned down by the Taliban while flying a chopper near Kabul, Afghanistan. He was 44.

"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," his brother Karl told the Mirror.

Britney hasn't released a statement on John's death, but his family believes she's devastated by his passing. "We know Britney's upset too. John was still good friends with Britney, he talked to her regularly," Karl said. "They dated for a while but always kept in touch afterwards."

John's body was transported to the United States and he was buried in a Buddhist ceremony last week in Los Angeles. "It's heartbreaking - John went there to try to repair the country," Karl said. "He was trying to help people, he would often say that the country was in chaos."

Britney and John met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and he helped her fight her demons. "I told her: 'If you fall off the wagon, I don't think you will live,'" he said in a 2007 interview with the National Enquirer. " 'If you don't want to get sober for yourself, do it for your kids.' "

John Sundahl reportedly had been working for several months as a private contractor ferrying officials across the war zone.