Two U.S. service members killed in northern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Two U.S. service members were killed during a joint operation with Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan on Friday, bringing to four the American combat deaths in Afghanistan this year, Afghan and American officials said.

A spokeswoman for the U.S.led NATO mission in Afghanistan confirmed the two deaths in a brief statement, but it released no details of the attack.

“The incident is under investigation and we have no additional information to provide,” said the spokeswoman, Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson.

Qayum Nuristani, a spokesman for the Afghan special forces, said the operation was in northern Kunduz province. One Afghan commando was killed and three others were wounded, he said, adding that many Taliban had also been killed in the fighting.

Amruddin Wali, a member of the provincial council in Kunduz, said the Afghan and American forces were conducting a military operation against the Taliban in Gul Tepa District.

“Both Afghan and U.S. forces suffered casualties in the operation,” he said, without providing an exact figure. “The district is completely in the Taliban control.”

In 2018, 13 U.S. troops were killed in combat in Afghanistan, up from 11 in 2017. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Uruzgan and Badghis provinces in January.

There are roughly 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. In December 2018, the Trump administration ordered the military to begin plans to withdraw about 7,000 U.S. troops from the country in coming months.

But the drawdown has not started, and military officials have been unable to clarify how many troops will leave the country, or when.

After the latest talks between U.S. and Taliban officials in Qatar, Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American peace envoy, said the sides had reached a draft agreement on two of four elements necessary for a settlement: assurances that Afghanistan would not become a haven for terrorism and a timeline for a U.S. military withdrawal.