The US military says an American soldier has been “killed in action” in Afghanistan amid a rise in attacks by Taliban and other militants.
The death appears to have occurred during a combat operation, chief of US Central Command Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel said on Thursday.
The US-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan said in a statement that the incident was under investigation.
The identity of the victim was withheld pending the notification of relatives, according to RSM, which is purportedly an “advice and assist mission” consisting of about 14,000 troops, mostly from the US and NATO countries.
US military authorities said the name of the dead soldier would be released 24 hours after family notification has taken place in keeping with the Pentagon policy.
Taliban militants, meanwhile, claimed on Thursday that they had blown up a US armored vehicle in southern Helmand Province, killing several soldiers on board.
The…