WASHINGTON — Two U.S. service members were killed Wednesday when their NATO convoy came under attack in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.
“I can confirm that two U.S. service members were killed in action in Kandarhar, Afghanistan, when their convoy came under attack. U.S. Forces Afghanistan will provide additional information as it becomes available,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.
The attack was conducted using some form of improvised explosive device, but it is not known at this time if the explosive was buried in the road or vehicle-borne, said Capt. William Salvin, a spokesperson for Operation Resolute Support.
There are currently over 8,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan serving in an advisory capacity under Resolute Support, as well as a counter-terror mission known as Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Twenty-six U.S. service members have been killed in action since January 2015 supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, seven of those deaths occurred in 2017.
The White House is still reviewing options on whether to increase U.S. forces by several thousand in America’s longest war.
This story will be updated as more details emerge.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
