Photos: Blast in Afghanistan

Spc. Phillip “Doc” Singleton, an Army medic, examines Sgt. Steve Peterson after he was knocked down when an improvised explosive device detonated in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Urmel, a Belgian Malinois, and his handler, U.S. Army Sgt. Tait Terzo, investigate the site where an improvised explosive device went off in Afghanistan’s Arghandab Valley.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Mason climbs a wall as Afghan villagers look on in the Arghandab Valley.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Residents of Kuhak, Afghanistan, watch shortly after dawn as a U.S. Army patrol leaves its base for a mission.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

An improvised explosive device detonates as U.S. soldiers look on in Afghanistan’s Arghandab Valley.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

An interpreter working for the U.S. Army questions a village elder about a bomb that went off near his home in Afghanistan’s Arghandab Valley.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jordan Ritenour crouches among trees to speak to a farmer about an explosion that struck members of his platoon.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

U.S Army Sgt. Steve Peterson, left, and Spc. Tyler Watts prepare to head out for an early morning patrol from their base in Kuhat, Afghanistan.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

A U.S. soldier, right, speaks with a resident of Jilga, Afghanistan, during an Army patrol.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jordan Ritenour, the platoon leader, left, and Pfc. Preston Young during a patrol in the farmland of Afghanistan’s Arghandab Valley.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Army Sgt. Steve Peterson, left, chain-smokes upon returning to his base after he was knocked down by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan’s Arghandab Valley.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)