Army Casualties

Afghanistan Explosion Kills Coalition Soldier; DoD Identifies Casualties American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2006 – A roadside explosion in Afghanistan's Kandahar province today killed a coalition soldier and wounded four others, and the Defense Department has identified recent casualties in the global war on terror. Officials said the soldiers wounded today are being treated at a military medical facility, but that no information was immediately available on their condition.

As a matter of policy, initial Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases do not provide the nationality of coalition servicemembers killed or wounded in Operation Enduring Freedom. Meanwhile, the Defense Department has identified several servicemembers killed recently in Afghanistan and Iraq:

Army 1st Lt. Forrest P. Ewens, 25, of Washington state, and Army Sgt. Ian T. Sanchez, 26, of Staten Island, N.Y., died in Pech River Valley, Afghanistan, on June 16 when their all-terrain vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Army Spc. Brent W. Koch, 22, of Morton, Minn., died June 16 in Diwaniyah, Iraq, when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee. Koch was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry Combined Arms Battalion, Hutchinson, Minn.

Army Spc. Jeremiah S. Santos, 21, of Minot, N.D., died in Baghdad on June 15 of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee. Santos was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.