American service member killed in Afghanistan as Trump vows US will ‘always’ stay there
by مخبر
American service member killed in Afghanistan as Trump vows US will ‘always’ stay there
An American serviceman was killed in Afghanistan in combat operations, NATO said in a statement. The news comes just a day after President Trump announced there would “always” be a US presence in the country.
The soldier died on Thursday during a combat mission, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan announced in a statement on Friday, but withheld the serviceman’s identity, per the organization’s policies.
The serviceman is the third American fatality in Afghanistan within the last 10 days – the seventeenth this year – with two other US soldiers killed in action last Wednesday.
President Trump earlier announced that 8,600 American soldiers would remain in the war-torn state even after a peace deal is reached with the Taliban, adding “we’re going to always have a presence.”
The war, which started in 2001, is now in its 18th year.
To date, the war in Afghanistan has cost American taxpayers $760 billion, according to Pentagon figures, while the overall US military budget continues to eclipse the next eight largest defense spenders combined.
