U.S. Army soldier killed in Afghanistan on Monday, weeks before the end of his deployment

On the same day that three suicide bombers killed at least 42 people in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Spc. Gabriel D. Conde was shot dead by "enemy small arms fire" Monday in Afghanistan's eastern Tageb district, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. Conde, 22, joined the Army in 2015 and deployed to Afghanistan in September with the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He had been stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and he was set to return to Alaska in a few weeks.

Conde's death is still under investigation, the Pentagon said, but he was part of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, which focuses on terrorist groups in Afghanistan. His is the second U.S. combat death in Afghanistan this year.

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