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Army Staff Sgt. Ernesto Guadalupe Cimarrusti dreamed of working in the music industry one day.

The 25-year-old father, who relatives say was killed earlier this week in Iraq, grew to love music while growing up in Douglas, roughly 120 miles southeast of Tucson.

As a teen, Cimarrusti became an adept disc jockey. He hoped to parlay his experience with melding music on the dance floor into a lucrative producing career, his brother, Victor Verdugo, said Thursday.

"He liked music a lot and listened to everything," Verdugo said. "It didn't matter if it was Spanish or English."

While the military has yet to confirm Cimarrusti's death, Verdugo said his brother died during a suicide bomb attack on Monday.

Based out of Fort Stewart, Ga., Cimarrusti was serving his third tour in Iraq. He joined the Army after he graduated from Douglas High School in 2000.

Fort Stewart is home to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, though details on Cimarrusti's unit were unavailable.

The Associated Press reported on Monday that a suicide bomber killed five U.S. soldiers while they patrolled a central Baghdad neighborhood.

The soldiers were talking to shopowners when a man detonated his explosives about 30 feet away, the AP reported.

The Baghdad attack, combined with a roadside bomb explosion in Diyala that killed three other soldiers, made Monday the single deadliest day for U.S. troops since September.

One of eight children, Cimarrusti was born in Douglas and spent his youth with his mother in Cananea, Sonora.

He moved back to Douglas when he was 12 and lived with his oldest brother, Verdugo, while he attended middle school and, later, high school.

Cimarrusti played football and practiced karate while in middle school, though music quickly became his passion, Verdugo said.

After learning how to be a DJ, Cimarrusti set his sights on working in a recording studio. He hoped to work in the music industry after he finished his Army service, Verdugo said.

But Cimarrusti had other ambitions, including wanting to become an Army helicopter pilot.

"He wanted to learn something new and fly helicopters," Verdugo said.

Cimarrusti is the second soldier from Douglas to die in Iraq.

The other, Army Spc. Isaac Campoy, 21, was killed when his tank hit a land mine in Iraq on Oct. 28, 2003.

Including Cimarrusti and Campoy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed 34 service members with ties to Tucson and Southern Arizona.

Douglas Mayor Ray Borane called Cimarrusti's death a tragedy and said flags in the city are being flown at half-staff.

"The community is very proud of him for having served his country and paid the ultimate price," Borane said.

Cimarrusti is survived by his wife, Ilia, a daughter and his mother. He was preceded in death by two other brothers.

While funeral arrangements had yet to be finalized, Verdugo said he plans to hold a memorial service in Douglas next week.

Verdugo then will escort his brother across the border to Cananea, where he will be buried next to his brothers.