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Two US service members were killed on SAT 11 JAN 2019 while conducting combat operations in southern Afghanistan. The two soldiers, who’s identities have not yet been revealed, were traveling in a vehicle that encountered an improvised explosive device. The bomb explosion also resulted in the grievous wounding of two additional U.S. service members. The affected soldiers were serving in the region as a part of NATO’s Resolute Support mission. According to the Associated Press, the soldiers were traveling in a vehicle en route to the Kandahar province when an IED was detonated and lethally impacted the car. The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, according to the AP.
The attacks come in the wake of continued reported efforts by the Trump administration to negotiate peace talks with the Taliban last November. President Trump stated that he would be okay with any negotiation outcome. “The Taliban wants to make a deal – we’ll see if they make a deal. If they do, they do, and if they don’t, they don’t. That’s fine,” President Trump told reporters during the time.
More than 2,400 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan since U.S. forces began conducting combat operations in the area almost two decades ago.
John Brass, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2017 to 2020, told NPR’s Audie Cornish that a diplomatic deal between the U.S., the Afghan government, and the Taliban is the only approach to fixing the current situation.
Despite attempts at peace talks, more than 20 U.S. soldiers have died in the last year alone in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon did not identify the deceased service members due to Defense Department regulations.