US service member killed in ‘vehicle incident’ in Afghanistan

A U.S. service member died Monday after a “vehicle incident” in Afghanistan, the U.S.-NATO coalition said.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own,” Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in a statement. “Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with the families and friends of our fallen and injured comrades.”

The incident happened in the eastern province of Nangarhar and also injured two other service members who are receiving medical treatment, according to the news release.

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“The incident was not the result of enemy action,” the release adds, providing no additional details of the nature of the incident.

U.S. military operations in Nangarhar over the last couple of years have focused on routing the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from the remaining districts it holds there.

Most of the 11 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan this year have happened in Nangarhar. The Monday incident was the fourth noncombat death in Afghanistan this year.

The United States has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan on a dual mission of training, advising and assisting Afghan troops in their fight against the Taliban and conducting counterterrorism missions against groups such as ISIS and al Qaeda.

That number includes the approximately 3,000 troops sent to the country after President Trump announced his new Afghanistan strategy over the summer.