A U.S. soldier was killed yesterday, in the fight against the Islamic State in Achin district, Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan. Some 20 Afghan and U.S. soldiers are reported wounded.
The family of a Utah National Guard soldier killed in eastern Afghanistan says he was a Green Beret who died after entering a booby-trapped building that exploded.
Seven of the eleven U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan this year have been in the war against the Islamic State in Nangarhar, though the Islamic State or militants claiming affiliation with it control nowhere near the territory that the Taliban controls.
Earlier this summer, the U.S. military began delaying initial notification of combat deaths in Afghanistan. The policy change is making it noticeably harder to discuss details about the deaths. Newspapers end up reporting that they have few details to report.
An American service member was killed Wednesday and an unspecific number wounded while battling Islamic State loyalists in eastern Afghanistan.
Members of the Afghan army also sustained casualties in what the U.S. military characterized as a partnered operation.
Officials in Kabul have said little else about the engagement, releasing only a brief statement indicating that the wounded were evacuated for medical treatment, the families of those involved were being notified, and the mission was said to be aimed at “further reducing” the Islamic State’s regional presence.
The statement does not specify where the attack occurred, although ISIS militants are known to be active along the Pakistan border in Nangahar and Kunar provinces.
A U.S. service member is killed, others wounded, fighting ISIS in Afghanistan, Andrew deGrandpre, Washington Post
No further details were give regarding the exact location where the operations were conducted but the Afghan and US forces have long been involved in anti-ISIS operations in eastern Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.
US and Afghan soldiers suffer casualties in anti-ISIS operations, Khaama Press
The statement does not specify where the attack occurred, although Daesh insurgents are known to be active in Nangahar and Kunar provinces.
US Soldier Killed in Fighting Against Daesh in Afghanistan, Tolo News