U.S. service member dies in apparent insider attack in Afghanistan

KABUL — A U.S. service member lost his life and another was wounded in an apparent insider attack on Monday in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said.

The Resolute Support mission, which is under U.S. command, did not immediately identify the exact location of the incident or provide further details.

“The sacrifice of our service member, who volunteered for a mission to Afghanistan to protect his country, is a tragic loss for all who knew and all who will now never know him,” the U.S. top commander for Afghanistan, Gen. Austin Scott Miller, said in a statement. “Our duty is to honor him, care for his family and continue our mission.”

The death is the first of a U.S. soldier since Miller on Sunday assumed his new position.

Insider attacks, or green on blue attacks as they are also called, have sharply gone down in recent years in Afghanistan since the drastic reduction of foreign troops in the country.

The service member killed Monday is the sixth American to have died in action this year in Afghanistan, according to the statement. Afghan security force fatalities are routinely higher.