A U.S. service member has been killed and two more wounded in fighting in southern Afghanistan, the Pentagon confirmed.
One American troop died as a result of wounds sustained during operations near Marja in Helmand Province on Tuesday and two others were wounded, according to a statement from the Defense Department.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss," Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in the statement.
"On behalf of General Campbell and all of USFOR-A, our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those involved," he added, referring to Army Gen. John Campbell, commander of U.S. forces in the country.
The Pentagon is withholding the identity of the service member killed in action to notify next of kin.
The fighting Tuesday against the Taliban was near where the Taliban has made recent gains, the Associated Press reported. Details on the battle were sketchy.
One U.S. official says a U.S. helicopter was sent to the scene to evacuate casualties but did not immediately take off because a mortar landed nearby, the AP reported. It was not clear whether the mortar has damaged the helicopter, it reported.
The officials was not authorized to speak publicly about the fighting and spoke on condition of anonymity, according to the news organization.
