Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
A member of the United States military was killed and two others suffered injuries during a firefight on Tuesday in Afghanistan, Department of Defense officials announced.
Speaking at a news briefing in Washington, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the soldiers were conducting a mission with Afghanistan forces in Marjah when the group came under fire.
Cook told reporters that “a number of Afghan forces” were also injured during the mission.
The spokesman said a pair of medevac helicopters were dispatched to the location in Helmand Province. One landed safely despite striking a wall, but damaged its rotor blades and remained grounded. The other came under fire and safely returned to its base without landing.
Cook didn’t offer much additional information about the circumstances of the soldier’s death or what the mission entailed, saying “there’s still a fight going on in the immediate surroundings.”
He did say the United States soldiers were on a “train, advise and assist” mission. The 9,800 or so soldiers that remain in Afghanistan are supporting the country’s military as it battles with a variety of armed insurgents, according to a Pentagon report released last month.
“There are dangerous parts of Afghanistan where the fight is still underway, and Helmand Province is one of those places,” Cook told reporters at the news briefing. “The U.S. forces that are there are doing what they can to provide support, training, advice (and) assistance to the Afghan forces as they take the lead in this fight.”
The Pentagon report also said the security situation had “deteriorated” in the second half of 2015 as terrorist groups like the Taliban and a branch of the Islamic State staged more “effective insurgent attacks” against Afghanistan forces, resulting in an increase in casualties.
Speaking at the news conference, Cook said the Afghanistan forces were improving at securing their country, but they weren’t yet at a point where they were able to fully defend it on their own. He said there wasn’t any plan to change the role the United States is playing in the region.
“The situation in Helmand and throughout Afghanistan remains challenging, but we are confident that Afghan National Security and Defense Forces are continuing to develop the capabilities and capacity to secure the country against a persistent insurgent threat,” Cook said.
