KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) —The Pentagon has released the names of three U.S. servicemen killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Two of the soldiers were Aberdeen residents Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, 29, and Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, 39. Also killed was Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, age 25, of Hookstown, Pennsylvania.

They were killed in Ghazni province, an area where the Taliban is resurgent. It was the deadliest attack against U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year.

Ross and Emond were assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg. Elchin was assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, based at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin (All photographs contributed)

Ross was originally from Lexington, Virginia and Emond was from Brush Prairie, Washington.

U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), the representative of Fort Bragg said, “My wife Renee and I join our country in mourning the deaths of Sergeant First Class Eric M. Emond, Captain Andrew P. Ross, and Staff Sergeant Dylan J. Elchin. We send our sincere condolences to their families, and our thoughts are with the entire Special Forces community during this tough time. We pray for God’s peace, comfort and healing and for full recoveries for the other Americans who were injured. Our community has lost heroes who will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.”

The military said that three other service members were wounded when the bomb went off near the city of Ghazni. An American contractor was also wounded, it said. 

Lt. Ubon Mendie, a military spokesman, said the wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical care.

The Taliban claimed the attack, saying a U.S. tank was completely destroyed.

It appeared to be the deadliest attack on American forces since June 2017, when an Afghan army soldier shot and killed three U.S. soldiers in an insider attack in the Achin district of the eastern Nangarhar province. The Taliban claimed that attack.

The U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan.

Feature photo: Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, left, and  Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond.

This article was written with the help of The Associated Press.

Copyright 2018, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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