US service members die in Afghanistan

A US Army carry team moves the transfer case containing the remains of Army Spc Michael Nance in Chicago. Two more US members have been killed since Nace died in late July. Credit: AP

Washington: Two American service members have been killed in Afghanistan, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission says, taking the number of US troops killed in the country to at least 14 this year.

It comes as the United States seeks to reach a negotiated end to the nearly 18-year-old war.

Officials gave no further details and withheld the names of the service members until next of kin were informed.

About 14,000 US troops are stationed in Afghanistan as part of the US-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces and to carry out counter- terrorism operations.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the US military role in Afghanistan has basically turned into a “ridiculous” police force in a sign that he is open to a US troop drawdown.

Trump, inheriting a war begun by then-president George W. Bush in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, expressed a willingness to remove some US troops but said some are needed to make sure the US has intelligence assets on the ground.

A pull-out has raised fears within the US military and among some US lawmakers that Afghanistan could plunge into a new civil war that could see a return of Taliban rule and give al-Qaeda and other militants a sanctuary in which to expand and plot new attacks on US and allied targets.

Source: Reuters

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