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PHOENIX (AP) - The family of a slain Border Patrol agent has sued federal officials over the botched "Fast and Furious" gun operation.

Agent Brian Terry was mortally wounded on Dec. 14, 2010, in a firefight north of the Arizona-Mexico border between border agents and five men who had sneaked into the country to rob marijuana smugglers.

Two assault rifles acquired by a straw buyer for the gun smuggling ring targeted in the "Fast and Furious" operation were found in the aftermath of the shootout near Nogales.

Federal authorities conducting "Fast and Furious" have faced tough criticism for allowing suspected straw gun buyers for the ring to walk away from gun shops in Arizona with weapons, rather than arrest them and seize weapons.

The investigation was launched in 2009 to catch trafficking kingpins, but agents lost track of about 1,400 of the more than 2,000 weapons involved.