April 9, 2019 – In Breaking News – ABC News
Three U.S. Marines were killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on Monday, according to the U.S. military.
Three other Americans service members and an Afghan contractor were also wounded in the attack, which occurred near Bagram Air Base.
The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical care.
Early reports on Monday from U.S. Forces Afghanistan incorrectly identified the contractor as an American who had also been killed, but an updated statement on Tuesday corrected that the contractor was actually an Afghan civilian who was alive and “treated along with other injured civilians.”
(Christopher Slutman is one of three U.S. Marines who died near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, in an attack which also wounded three others. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. Courtesy of the Daily Mail and YouTube. Posted on Apr 9, 2019.)
“We feel and mourn the loss of these Americans with their families and loved ones. They volunteered to protect their country. We will continue our mission,” said Gen. Scott Miller, Commanding General of Resolute Support and U.S. Forces Afghanistan.
In a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer confirmed that the three dead American service members were Marines.
The Kentland Volunteer Fire Department identified one of those Marines as Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, who served in their department as well as the New York City Fire Department for 19 years.
“Through this trying time, we will remember Chris for the father, husband, brother, son, and friend that he was, the moral character he displayed daily, and the courage and conviction to serve his fellow Americans, both at home and abroad,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.
“We ask for your thoughts and prayers for his firehouse brothers, his fellow Marines, his friends – but most of all, his family,” the post read.
Prior to Monday’s attack, there had been a total of four American troops killed in Afghanistan in 2019: Sgt. Cameron Meddock, Staff Sgt. Joshua Z. Beale, Spc. Joseph P. Collette, and Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay.
(Three U.S. service members were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan Monday, and one of them was an FDNY firefighter from the Bronx who was honored five years for rescuing a woman from a burning high-rise. Christopher Slutman, a 15-year veteran of the department and a staff sergeant with the U.S. Marine Corps, leaves behind his wife, Shannon, and three daughters. He most recently worked as a firefighter at Engine 46 Ladder 27 in the Claremont section of the Bronx. He is also a lifetime member of the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in Landover, Maryland. Courtesy of Eyewitness News ABC7NY and YouTube. Posted on Apr 9, 2019.)
There are 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, many of whom train, advise and assist Afghan forces in their fight against the Taliban.
Continue reading… 3 US Marines killed in roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan
Editor’s note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these 3 brave Marines, those injured for a full recovery, and all your Marine Corps brothers and sisters. Thank you for serving the citizens of America with distinction and pride, and your sacrifice for our nation. You will not be forgotten. Semper Fi.
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