Second U.S. Soldier Wounded In Afghanistan Dies

A second U.S. soldier has died from wounds received in a firefight near the Pakistan border in Afghanistan’s Paktika province Friday, U.S. Central Command announced. The soldier died about 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning [4 p.m. Friday EDT], according to Central Command, which had earlier announced that another U.S. soldier had been killed in the attack. Four U.S. servicemen wounded in the incident are being treated in a hospital at Bagram Air Base. About 11 a.m. Friday [2:30 a.m. EDT], a platoon-size group of soldiers came under rocket attack in Paktika province, near the Pakistani border, Central Command said. The soldiers were investigating suspicious activity near a rocket launch site “previously used by enemy forces,” according to a Central Command statement. “When the patrol reached the area, they received fire from approximately 20 enemy personnel,” the statement said. “A second platoon-sized quick-reaction force responded to the vicinity when the enemy forces fled across the border into Pakistan.” The U.S. forces, from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, said they killed at least three in the exchange of fire. Full Story