On Tuesday, a U.S. service member in Afghanistan was killed while carrying out an operation against the Islamic State, a U.S. defense official announced. The incident happened in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and was part of a "larger United States-Afghan counterterrorism mission." The Washington Post noted that this is the "third U.S. combat fatality in Afghanistan this year."
The service member's identity has yet to be released, but it's been reported that the person killed was a U.S. special operations commando. The exact cause of death is still under investigation, but military officials said the service member was killed "when the patrol triggered an improvised explosive device," commonly known as an IED.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.