KABUL, Afghanistan - One U.S. Marine was killed and another wounded in an overnight attack on American forces in southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday.
The Marines came under fire during a mission in Uruzgan province, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Tucker Mansager.
He did not identify the dead soldier.
It was unclear if the soldier was part of the 2,000-strong Marine force that recently deployed to Uruzgan to bolster the fight against resurgent Taliban-led militants.
Troops from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., began deploying to Afghanistan in late March.
Despite the extra forces, Taliban-led militants have carried out a fresh wave of attacks, killing dozens of Afghan troops. A Taliban spokesman claimed its fighters on Wednesday killed two British security consultants who were helping the United Nations organize landmark elections due in September.
Since Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan in late 2001, 121 U.S. soldiers have died, 53 of them in combat.
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