WASHINGTON: The US Department of Defence confirmed on Friday that two Nato troops killed in Afghanistan this week were from the US Air Force.

Capt. Matthew D. Roland, 27, of Lexington, Kentucky, and Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley, 31, of Pensacola, Florida, died after gunmen wearing Afghan security forces uniforms opened fire on their vehicle while it was stopped at a checkpoint near Camp Antonik, the US Air Force said. “The losses of Matt and Forrest are a terrible blow to everyone who knew them,” Col. Wolfe Davidson, 24th Special Operations Wing commander, said in a statement.

The gunmen who attacked the vehicle in Helmand province were fatally shot by Nato troops that returned fire, according to a statement from the coalition. This has been a deadly week for Americans in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, three American contractors were killed when a suicide car bomber attacked a US convoy in Kabul. Twelve people in all were killed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

On Aug 8, Army Special Forces soldier Master Sgt. Peter A. McKenna Jr. was killed during an attack on a base outside Kabul.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2015

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