An American soldier of the Special Forces was killed in Nangarhar Province, situated in eastern Afghanistan. The incident happened during an operation against the Islamic state (ISIS) in Afghanistan.
The Spokesman for the American forces in Afghanistan, said, that the Soldier was fatally injured and thus died as a result on Saturday. The spokesperson revealed the information via the official Twitter account of 'Resolute Support Mission'.
Although the circumstances of the death are not yet clear, a U.S Navy Captain said that details of the incident will be released later.
The soldier's name and rank have also not yet been released.
Jawed Salim, the spokesperson for the Afghan forces, revealed that the American soldier was fatally injured by a roadside bomb while conducting an operation along with the Afghan special forces in Shadal Bazaar.
ISIS in Afghanistan
The Islamic State in Afghanistan is known as the Khorasan Province, which is a branch of the ISIS or the ISIL. This militant Islamist group is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are known to target and attack the minority group of Shi'ite Muslims. The Islamic State is primarily based in Nangarhar and Kunar province, according to U.S intelligence.
The strength of this militant group in Afghanistan is not clearly determined.
U.S officials estimate only about 700 fighters, but according to the Afghan officials, the movement has around 1,500 people.
American Troops
For the year 2017, the death came as the first American casualty in Afghanistan.
In fact, last year, 13 U.S soldiers died in Afghanistan, ten of them due to enemy fire. As of now, around 8,400 American soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan to carry out two main missions.
One mission is under the NATO, to train and assist Afghan forces and the other mission is for counterterrorism, focussing on Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS).
The U.S. commander in Afghanistan expects a difficult fighting season ahead and thus voiced the need for additional American soldiers to help ease the situation in Afghanistan.
Saturday’s operation, in which a U.S soldier lost his life, occurred in Achin district, which still remains the breeding ground for the Islamic State. Although, both Afghan and American forces succeeded in destroying the group in the neighboring areas.
There are more than 2,200 American service members who have been killed since the war started in Afghanistan back in 2001.
