News / Military

Two US troops killed in anti-Daesh operations in Afghanistan: Pentagon

Thursday, 27 April 2017 4:30 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 27 April 2017 5:46 PM ]

A file photo of US troop engaged in operations in Afghanistan’s Achin district.

Two US troops have been killed in eastern Afghanistan during a military operation against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, according to the US Defense Department.

The incident took place on Wednesday in the southern Nangarhar province, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.

The deaths come just days after US Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Afghanistan as President Donald Trump's administration looks to craft a policy in the war-torn country.

It was the third time in 2017 that a member of the US military has died in combat in Afghanistan. In total, 2,217 American soldiers have died in the country since the invasion in 2001 and another 20,000 have been wounded, according to the Pentagon.

Currently some 8,400 US troops are stationed in different bases across the country.

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Earlier this month, the US military dropped its GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), dubbed the "Mother of All Bombs", on suspected ISIL hideouts in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, killing nearly a hundred militants.

ISIL is mostly active in Nangarhar and its neighboring Kunar province. There are thought to be between 700 to 1,500 Daesh members operating in the country.

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The military invasion removed the Taliban from power, but their militancy continues to this day.

Activists have called on the International Criminal Court to speed up a probe into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion.

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