A service member has died in southern Afghanistan in what appears to be a green-on-blue attack, military officials announced Saturday.
Two more troops were wounded in the apparent attack July 7, according to an announcement from Resolute Support public affairs.
The service branch of the troops and the province in which the suspected attack occurred have not been made public.
Officials said the incident is now under investigation. The name of the fallen service member will be released 24 hours after family notification has taken place in keeping with Defense Department policy, according to the release.
To date, 49 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan since Jan. 1, 2015, when operations in the country formally transitioned from combat operations to a mission of support and advisory assistance to the Afghan National Security Forces, who continue to fend off Taliban insurgents on the ground.
To date this year, three other troops have been killed in hostile incidents in Afghanistan.
Green-on-blue or insider attacks, in which a member of the ANSF attacks American service members, have taken place every year since 2008. The Afghan province that has seen the highest number of attacks is Helmand to the south, a Taliban stronghold and the heart of Afghanistan's opium-growing industry.
A small contingent of Marines known as Task Force Southwest is currently deployed to Helmand to support the Afghan security forces.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
