U.S. Soldier Killed by Militants in Eastern Afghanistan

A U.S. soldier was killed on Jan. 14 following “a fire attack” by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan.   

On Jan. 14, the U.S.-NATO-led coalition formally known as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) reported that one of its service members “died following a direct fire attack by enemy forces in eastern Afghanistan today.”  

ISAF, as usual, did not reveal the identity or nationality of the fatality. However, a Pentagon official told Breitbart News that it was a U.S. servicemember.

Yesterday’s fatality brings the total number of U.S. military deaths since the Afghanistan war started on October 7, 2001 to at least 2,167, according to a count kept by U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).  

There have been at least five U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan in 2014. 

Under Operation Enduring Freedom, the official name of the war, there have been 134 U.S. deaths outside of Afghanistan since the conflict started. Most of those fatalities have been designated as “non-hostile” by the Pentagon.  

Besides Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom covers Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. 

Overall, including those that have occurred in Afghanistan, there have been 2,304 U.S. deaths including three Pentagon civilians, according to the DOD count.