Afghan War:US Service Member Killed in Action along with several Afghan troops;another US service member was wounded and eight NATO troops were wounded in a day of widespread hostilities

A spree of militant attacks killed and wounded several NATO and Afghan troops,as well as nearly a dozen Afghan journalists on 30 April 2018.The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,which has an affiliate known as the Khorasan Group in the unstable nation,claimed responsibility for the carnage in the Afghan capital Kabul,which killed at least 25 people,including nine Afghan journalists.
Meanwhile,US Forces Afghanistan said an American service member died in an attack during a combat operation in Eastern Afghanistan,which has been a hotbed of Khorasan Group activity the past three years.Another US service member was wounded in the incident and was evacuated to Bagram Airbase in stable condition.In the same attack,several Afghan troops were also killed and wounded.
In Khost Province of Eastern Afghanistan,BBC reporter Ahmad Shah,29,was shot dead,bringing the total journalist deaths for the day to ten.*
In Kandahar city of Southeast Afghanistan,eight Romanian NATO troops were reportedly wounded when a VBIED exploded,which also killed 11 children who were in a nearby religious school.*
Details are sketchy at this time until families have been notified and investigations carried out.*
*The US currently has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan-up to 8,000 are Special Operations Forces often embedding with Afghan commandos and sent on counterror raids against the ISIL Islamist extremists in the Khorasan Group.Since the number of US troops was increased following the commencement of President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy,more US soldiers were expected to be sent to the front lines with the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.*
At the recent Foreign Ministerial meeting in Brussels,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said many NATO members were upping their troop numbers to better assist Afghanistan.

Bulletin:Two More US Soldiers Die in Afghanistan Combat - joint US/Afghan raid

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis,USN,announced that two US Special Operations Forces members were killed in action overnight in Nangarhar Province of Eastern Afghanistan.A third US Soldier was wounded but is expected to survive.They were on a raid with Afghan National Defence and Security Forces members in a village near Achin district.The area has been a hotbed of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan militants,who have been posing a threat to US and ANDSF Soldiers operating in the area.*
ISIL refers to Nangarhar as Khorasan Province.*
The battleground was in the same area where US Army Staff Sergeant Mark R DeAlencar was killed in action on a similar raid on 8 April,just over two weeks ago.In response,the US dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb,or MOAB,formally designated the GBU-43.The 11-tonne weapon was targeted at a complex of ISIL-K tunnels in Achin district,and killed between 36-100 of the Islamist extremists,by Afghan estimates.The US has yet to disclose any bomb damage assessment.*
The American deaths came after a long day of fighting,according to an Afghan military official.US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had recently made a secret visit to the Afghan capital Kabul to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the country with President Ashraf Ghani and other Afghan leaders.Commander of all US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson,US Army,has told Congress that,in fact,a few thousand more troops are needed for train,advise and assist,as well as counterterrorism operations,in the beleaguered nation,in addition to the 8400 US service members currently serving there and about 5,000 from other NATO and partner nations.GEN Nicholson wants to drive ISIL-K out of Afghanistan by the end of 2017 because it is important for the world,which would leave the Taliban and remnant al-Qaida forces to deal with.
Mr.Mattis has yet to make a recommendation on Afghanistan to President Donald Trump.