A U.S. service member has been killed in Afghanistan, the NATO-led coalition in that country said Tuesday.
It is the second U.S. military death in Afghanistan in a week and this year.
“One U.S. service member was killed in Afghanistan today as a result of enemy small arms fire,” said a brief statement from Resolute Support, the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan.
“The incident is under investigation,” it added.
A U.S. official said the combat incident occurred in central Afghanistan.
The statement continued that, in accordance with Defense Department policy, “the name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete. We will share additional information as appropriate.”
Last Thursday, U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. Cameron Meddock died from injuries he had suffered during a combat action on January 13. Meddock succumbed to his injuries at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany where he had been transferred for medical care.
There are currently about 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan, most of whom are serving in an advisory and assist mission helping Afghan security forces in their fight against the Taliban and the ISIS affiliate in eastern Afghanistan.
ABC News has reported that the Trump administration is planning to halve the number of American troops in Afghanistan sometime this year.
