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DoD identifies US Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Posted at 8:50 AM, Jun 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-12 08:50:57-04

The Department of Defense has identified three US Army soldiers killed Saturday during a joint US-Afghan military operation in Nangarhar province.

An American official said the soldiers were shot in an apparent insider attack, also known as a “green-on-blue” incident because of the color-coding system used by NATO. During such assaults, members of the Afghan security forces are known to target US and other NATO soldiers.

The soldiers were identified as:

  • Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore, Maryland;
  • Sgt. William M. Bays, 29 of Barstow, California; and
  • Corporal Dillon C. Baldridge, 22 of Youngsville, North Carolina

The soldiers were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY.

The shooter in Saturday’s incident was an Afghan army commando, Nangarhar provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. He said the assailant was killed by Afghan forces.

The shootings occurred in the Achin District, where US and Afghan troops have been carrying out a monthslong offensive against a local affiliate of ISIS, officials said.

Taliban claim responsibility

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

“A Mujahid (freedom fighter) infiltrator of the Islamic Emirate who had enrolled himself in the Kabul government’s army attacked American soldiers in Lata Band area of Achin district in Nangarhar province today in the afternoon,” said a written statement in Pashto obtained by CNN. “The American invaders were there to support their Afghan slaves.”

US President Donald Trump was briefed on the shootings, a White House spokesman said, but as of Monday morning there had been no comment from the President.

US Vice President Mike Pence addressed the attack while in Milwaukee on Saturday.

“The President and I have been briefed. Details of this attack will be forthcoming,” Pence said. “When heroes fall, Americans grieve. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of American heroes.”

A US military spokesman in Afghanistan said the military “will release more information when appropriate.”

Afghan police killed in another incident

In Kabul, meanwhile, the US military command said an unspecified number of Afghan police were killed and wounded in a “friendly fire” incident during a joint Afghan-US operation overnight Saturday.

US Forces Afghanistan said members of the Afghan Border Police in Helmand province were killed and wounded during an operation involving US and Afghan defense and security forces.

The deaths occurred when a US aircraft fired on Afghan police, said Omar Zawak, spokesman for the governor of Helmand.

US Forces Afghanistan is investigating the incident.

Two US service member killed in April

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have become rarer in recent years, falling dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.

But in late April, two US service members were killed and another wounded while conducting a joint raid in the Achin District, a Pentagon spokesman said. The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. A US Army Special Forces soldier was killed fighting the terror group there in early April.

The district is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Beginning in 2016, Afghan security forces backed by US military advisers launched a major offensive against ISIS. Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of US Forces Afghanistan, has said the terror group has lost about half of its fighters and been ejected from two-thirds of its territory.

The latest counter-ISIS push began in March of this year.

US officials estimate ISIS has 600 to 800 fighters in the country — mostly former members of other regional terror groups, such as the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. ISIS is believed to be behind a series of terror attacks, including the recent deadly attack on a hospital in Kabul.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan. The US counterterrorism mission is separate from the NATO-led effort to train, advise and assist the Afghan army and police force in the fight against the Taliban.