BURNS (AP) - A Marine from Oregon has been killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq, his family said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Dale Peterson, 20, was killed in action but the family was still learning details, said his older sister, Melissa Davies, from his mother's home in Burns, where family members have gathered.

Peterson was with the 2nd Combat Engineer battalion of the 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He joined the Marines after graduating from Redmond High School in 2005.

Davies, 23, who lives in Boise, Idaho, said her brother was the second-youngest of four siblings, the rest all sisters.

“Our world revolves around each other,” she said. “We talk to each other every day.”

She said Dale had been in Iraq for less than a month.

The Department of Defense had not confirmed Peterson's death, citing a policy of allowing families to grieve privately for 24 hours before a public announcement.

“It's just a tragedy,” said Gunnery Sgt. Brent Sowders of the Marine Corps Recruiting Office in Bend.

“He was a great friend, great brother in arms,” said Sowders, who talked to Peterson's widow, “Reggie,” Tuesday morning.

“In my eyes, I just lost a brother,” Sowders said.

Peterson is the second Central Oregon Marine killed in action in less than a year. Lance Cpl. Randy Newman of Bend was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol last August.

Peterson was the 87th military service members from Oregon or with close ties to the state killed in the war in Iraq, according to a list compiled by Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office.