Although the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the death of a soldier from Bergen County, the U.S. military has not determined whether the movement’s claims are accurate.
“The incident is still under investigation,” Lt. Col. Loren Bymer of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said in an email on Tuesday.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble, 33, of Westwood, died Monday, about a day after he was injured in the Kunduz Province and died from his injuries on Monday.
Goble was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, the military said.
Shortly after the initial U.S. military statement on Goble’s death, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that the U.S. soldier was killed in the Chardara district in northern Kunduz province where U.S. and Afghan forces were carrying out a joint raid.
Mujahid said the insurgents had planted roadside bomb that killed the service member. He even tweeted a purported photo ID of the slain U.S. soldier, without saying how it was obtained.
Goble was raised in Westwood and entered the Army as a Special Forces candidate on July 7, 2004 before graduating the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 2007 and earning a Green Beret, according to a Facebook post from the 7th Special Forces Group.
Nearly $25,000 had been raised for Goble’s family some 24 hours after a GoFundMe page was organized by Lisa Barker of Connecticut. He was remembered Tuesday as being an exemplary man, soldier and father by friends, family and officials.
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