One U.S. Service member and two others were wounded during a joint U.S.-Afghan Special Operations mission near Marjah, located in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, U.S. Defense officials said Tuesday. Details about the battle are unclear, with officials at the U.S. military command in Kabul releasing a statement only saying that one of the soldiers died of wounds sustained "during operations" in Marjah and that two were wounded, according to the Associated Press.
Speaking for General John Campbell, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan Brigadier General Wilson A. Shoffner expressed his condolences over the recent turn of events. "We are deeply saddened by this loss," he said, according to FOX News. "On behalf of General Campbell and all of USFOR-A, our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those involved."
A medical helicopter sent to the province to evacuate the wounded was reportedly forced to stay on the ground after coming under Taliban fire. Reports indicated that the helicopter had been shot down, but an official refuted those claims, saying that the helicopter landed safely but was experiencing mechanical problems after it was hit by a mortar shell.
"We can confirm a U.S. helicopter has landed in Marjah, Helmand Province, and is experiencing mechanical problems. It was not shot down," said Resolute Support Public Affairs Director U.S. Army Col. Michael Lawhorn, according to CNN.
News of the casualty comes after six U.S. airmen were killed by a suicide bomber near Bagram air base north of Kabul in December, bringing the total number of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan in 2015 to 22.
This incident marks the first U.S. casualty in 2016.
