Two U.S. soldiers have been killed in fighting against an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, the U.S. military says.

 

 Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis on April 27 said the soldiers were killed during an operation on April 26 against ISIS Khorasan, an IS affiliate that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

 U.S. forces have been battling IS-linked militants in Nangarhar Province, where they have established themselves to battle against Afghan government forces.

 

 On April 13, the U.S. military dropped its most powerful nonnuclear weapon ever used in combat, killing, it said, 94 fighters in what was suspected to be a major militant command center in Nangarhar Province.

 

 CNN cited a U.S. official as saying the two soldiers killed on April 26 were members of the U.S. Special Forces and that another soldier had been wounded during the fighting in Nangarhar's southern district of Achin.

 

 The Pentagon said the soldiers were killed during a raid carried out jointly with Afghan government forces.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP </s> WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - Two U.S. service members were killed during an operation against Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan overnight on Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the incident took place in the southern Nangarhar province.

U.S. troops are battling suspected Islamic State fighting in Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan, where earlier this month the United States dropped a massive bomb known as "the mother of all bombs." (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Bernadette Baum) </s> An American soldier was killed while conducting operations against Islamic State in Afghanistan late on Saturday, a US military spokesman said in a message posted on Twitter.

“The soldier was mortally wounded late Saturday during an operation in Nangarhar province” in eastern Afghanistan, US navy captain Bill Salvin said in a message on the official Twitter account of the Nato-led resolute support mission.

The soldier was a special forces operator and was killed in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, Salvin told Reuters separately. </s> Two US service members were killed Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life-threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014. </s> AFGHANISTAN — Two US service members were killed Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.

Check our FOX 4 newscasts, the fox4kc app and FOX 4 Kansas City Facebook page for more on how it happened and the names of these two service members who gave their life in the fight against terrorists. </s> Two American service members based in eastern Afghanistan were killed Wednesday night during an operation targeting Islamic State militants, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

The two service members, whose names have not yet been released, were killed in Nangarhar, an eastern Afghan province bordering Pakistan where much of the U.S.’s fight against ISIS militants has taken place. Attahullah Khogyani, a Nangarhar government spokesman, told Reuters the raid was conducted in coordination with Afghan and U.S. forces, and resulted in the deaths of 40 ISIS fighters.

The province is the same one where two weeks ago the U.S. military dropped one of its largest non-nuclear devices. Dubbed the “mother of all bombs,” the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) targeted caves and tunnels used by ISIS in the Achin district. The device’s use follows an overall increase in U.S. military airstrikes carried out in Afghanistan since the Trump administration took office.

As my colleague Krishnadev Calamur reported, ISIS is a relative newcomer to Afghanistan, with U.S. estimates putting the group’s numbers at around 700 fighters (though Afghan officials say it’s closer to 1,500). Still, the group enjoys a stronghold in Nangarhar province and has been able to claim a number of high-profile attacks, often against civilians. A U.S. special-operation forces soldier was killed in the fighting the area a few days before the U.S. dropped the “mother of all bombs.” </s> A US soldier was killed Saturday while conducting operations in Afghanistan against ISIS-Khorasan, the local branch of ISIS there. The soldier was mortally wounded late Saturday during an operation in Nangarhar Province, Navy Capt. Bill Salvin, a spokesman for the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, told CNN.

A U.S. military official separately told CNN the fallen service member is a special operations soldier.

US troops regularly perform counterterrorism operations against the ISIS affiliate, which has a presence in Nangarhar. Those operations are sometimes carried out in conjunction with Afghan forces.

The US counterterrorism mission is separate from the NATO-led effort to train, advise and assist the Afghan army and police force.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan. This is the first US combat death in Afghanistan in 2017. The number of US casualties in Afghanistan has fallen sharply since the end of US-led combat operations in 2014. </s> A U.S. military Special Forces soldier was killed while conducting an operation against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan.

In a tweet issued Saturday, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan said the soldier was mortally wounded during an operation in the Nangarhar Province.

The soldier's name hasn't been announced and no other information has been released.

The unnamed soldier was a special forces operator, U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin told Reuters separately.

The circumstances of the service member's death were unclear and Salvin said more information could be released later.

This was the first U.S. soldier casualty in Afghanistan in 2017 for the Resolute Support mission, NBC News reported.

Islamic State's offshoot in Afghanistan, known as the Sunni jihadist group's so-called Khorasan Province, is suspected of carrying out several attacks on minority Shi'ite Muslim targets.

U.S. officials say intelligence suggests Islamic State is based overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar province.

Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. U.S. officials have said they believe the movement has only 700 fighters but Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.

The Afghan Taliban, which is trying to overthrow the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, is fiercely opposed to Islamic State and the two have clashed as they seek to expand territory and influence. </s> Two US service members were killed Wednesday evening while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

The fight against ISIS-K is important for the world, but sadly, it is not without sacrifice,” said General Nicholson. “On behalf of all U.S. Forces and our coalition partners, I offer our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and fellow service members of our fallen comrades.”

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.
A U.S. special forces service member is killed while taking part in an operation against ISIL militants in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar Province.