U.S. soldier shot dead in eastern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

U.S. soldier shot dead in eastern Afghanistan

2011-10-10 05:55:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A U.S. soldier was shot dead in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday when his unit came under attack from insurgents, the U.S. military confirmed on Sunday.

The U.S. Department of Defense said one of its soldiers died in Logar Province, located in Afghanistan's east, as a result of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. The service member was identified as 24-year-old Specialist Ricardo Cerros Jr. of Salinas, California.

Cerros was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, according to the Department of Defense. It gave no other details.

Cerros' death was not earlier reported by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but the multinational force previously said two other coalition service members were killed as a result of an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, also on Saturday, but gave no other details such as the nationalities of the casualties.

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply in recent years with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war began in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

There are currently more than 130,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 90,000 U.S. troops and more than 9,500 British soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 10,000 American troops later this year, with another 23,000 U.S. troops to return home next year.

So far this year, at least 476 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are American and are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians. The deadliest incident happened in August when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.

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