The three American soldiers who were killed during a joint U.S.-Afghan military operation on Saturday in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, have been identified as Sgt. Eric Houck, Sgt. William Bays and Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, according to the Defense Department.
The three soldiers died of gunshot wounds sustained while deployed to Peka Valley in Afghanistan’s Nargarhar province, according to a release. Another soldier was wounded in the attack. The incident is being investigated, according to the Department of Defense.
The soldiers were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division and Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, first reported the insider attack.
The Afghan soldier who attacked the American soldiers was killed in return fire, according to Khogyani.
Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
This year, six American troops have been killed in Afghanistan.
In March, three American soldiers were wounded in another insider attack when an Afghan soldier opened fire on Camp Antonik in Afghanistan.
The United States currently has roughly 8,000 personnel deployed to Afghanistan. The Trump administration is considering deploying several thousand more troops.
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