2 US troops killed, 1 injured in eastern Afghanistan

Forces come under attack by Islamic State in same region where ‘mother of all bombs’ was dropped recently

By Lolita C. Baldor 27 April 2017, 8:04 pm

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In this photograph taken on April 11, 2017, smoke rises after an air strike by US aircraft on positions during an ongoing an operation against Islamic State (IS) in the Achin district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. (AFP PHOTO / NOORULLAH SHIRZADA)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two American service members were killed and another received a minor injury during a ground assault against Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan Wednesday, according to the US military.

The US forces were accompanying Afghan troops on the raid when they came under attack by the Islamic State Khorasan group in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Navy Capt. Bill Salvin, the US military spokesman in Kabul. He said a number of IS fighters were also killed.

The US and Afghan troops had flown in by helicopter then advanced on foot. The raid was in Mohmand Valley, the same region where the US, two weeks ago, dropped what is called the “mother of all bombs” on an IS complex.

The bombing came just days after a US Army special forces soldier was killed in the region. The bomb is the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US, and it killed several dozen militants.

The US has been battling the Islamic State group in Afghanistan for months and estimates that it now includes about 800 fighters there.

“The fight against ISIS-K is important for the world, but sadly, it is not without sacrifice,” said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US Forces in Afghanistan.