NATO:First Afghan War Death in 2018 - American killed in action

An American service member was killed during combat operations in Achin district of Nangarhar Province,Afghanistan,NATO'S Resolute Support Mission announced on 2 January 2018.Four other service members were wounded in the battle.No names or other details of the incident were disclosed.*
The Pentagon later said that two of the wounded had returned to duty and the other two remained in hospital.US and Afghan National Defence and Security Forces have conducted several raids against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan militants in Nangarhar Province in recent years.General John Nicholson,commander of all NATO and US Forces in Afghanistan,had a stated goal of eliminating ISIL-K in 2017.*
In 2017,the US lost a total of 15 troops in Afghanistan,11 of them killed in action.*
The Resolute Support coalition includes 39 NATO Allies and Partners.The US participates under the name Operation Freedom's Sentinel,providing train,advise and assist,as well as counterterrorism operations and air support.

Bulletin:Three US Troops Killed in Afghanistan - green on blue attack

US officials say three American service members were killed and a fourth wounded in Achin district of Nangarhar Province,Afghanistan on Saturday,10 June 2017.The incident is being labeled a green-on-blue attack,a NATO code word for an enemy infiltrator who opens fire on coalition forces while wearing an Afghan National Defence and Security Forces uniform.The treacherous attack occurred while US and ANDSF personnel were conducting a counterterrorist operation in the district,an ISIL-K stronghold that US and Afghan Special Operations Forces have been focused on for several months now.An Afghan official said ANDSF members shot the gunman dead.*
The Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the incident,calling the perpetrator a "mujahadid,"or freedom fighter.On Saturday,US Vice President Mike Pence mentioned the deaths and offered the American people's thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the victims.*
ISIL-K and the Taliban had been fighting each other,so it is possible they have begun to cooperate against the US and Afghan forces now.*
ISIL-K is short for ISIL-Khorasan.The Islamist extremists refer to Nangarhar as being their Khorasan Province.In April,two more US troops were killed in action in Achin district of Nangarhar during combat with ISIL-K.*
The US and its NATO Allies are considering upping the number of forces in Afghanistan in light of the persistent militant activity.