A U.S. service member was wounded Thursday during a joint U.S.-Afghan ground operation in an area of eastern Afghanistan home to an ISIS-affiliate with about 1,000 fighters, Fox News confirmed.
A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul told Fox News the operation against the insurgents was over, but would not describe the wounds of the injured service member.
The Taliban claimed the attack Thursday was carried out by two insurgent disguised as local militiamen. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the Associated Press the attackers had infiltrated the local forces months ago.
Thirteen U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2017 – seven of which were killed in the eastern province of Nangarhar during operations against the ISIS-affiliate.
The affiliate claimed responsibility for a number of suicide attacks that killed dozens in Kabul late last year.
As the war against ISIS winds down in Iraq and Syria, more U.S. jets are being sent to Afghanistan.
This year some of the 3,000 recently deployed U.S. troops will be moving closer to the front lines to call in more air strikes in Afghanistan.
Expect more U.S. jets to be sent to Afghanistan in the coming days to provide close air support to those troops, officials have said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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