Clash in Afghanistan Kills Marine

KABUL, Afghanistan —  A U.S. Marine was killed and another injured in an overnight attack on a patrol in southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday, in the Corps’ first loss to hostile fire in the country.

The troops were fired on by militants south of Tarin Kowt, about 250 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, in Oruzgan province, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Tucker Mansager.

Spokeswoman Capt. Cindy Beam said the troops were attacked during a patrol through Oruzgan and Kandahar provinces. She gave no further details of the clash, but said the injured Marine underwent surgery at the U.S. military base near Kandahar city for “multiple gunshot wounds to the lower extremities.”

A 2,000-strong Marine force was recently deployed in Oruzgan to bolster the fight against Taliban-led militants. It was unclear whether the two were part of that force. Marines are also operating in the eastern province of Kunar and guard facilities including the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

The troops from the special-operations-capable 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., began arriving in Afghanistan in late March and have set up a new base near Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital.

A total of 121 U.S. troops have died, 53 in combat, since Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan in late 2001, toppling the Taliban regime.

Previously, the only Marines killed in Afghanistan were two who died when engine failure brought down their helicopter in January 2002.