The US Department of Defense has identified two U.S. soldiers that were killed the day before in a roadside bombing attack in Afghanistan that was claimed by the Taliban.
The soldiers were identified as Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, from Virginia, and Pfc. Miquel A. Villalon, 21, from Illinois.
Both soldiers were assigned to 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C., the Pentagon said in a statement.
The soldiers were killed in action Saturday when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province.
They had been conducting operations as part of NATO’s Resolute support Mission, according to the Department of Defense.
The incident is under investigation, the Pentagon said.
More than 2,4000 U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan, including 23 last year.
