Four Troops Killed; Previous Casualties Identified

American Forces Press Service
April 27, 2007 – A coalition servicemember was killed in Afghanistan today and three Marines were killed in Iraq yesterday, military officials reported. The Defense Department also released the identities of 10 soldiers killed recently in Iraq.

One coalition servicemember was killed today when coalition forces made contact with enemy fighters while conducting a combat patrol four kilometers south of Shindand in the Shindand district of Afghanistan's Herat province. Three Marines assigned to Multinational Force West died yesterday while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province.

The servicemembers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of 10 soldiers who were killed recently in Iraq.

Army Spc. Jeremy E. Maresh, 24, of Jim Thorpe, Pa., died April 24 in Baghdad from a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation.

Nine soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., died April 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their location. Killed were

1st Lt. Kevin J. Gaspers, 26, of Hastings, Neb.;
Staff Sgt. Kenneth E. Locker Jr., 28, of Wakefield, Neb.;
Staff Sgt. William C. Moore, 27, of Benson, N.C.;
Sgt. Randell T. Marshall, 22, of Fitzgerald, Ga.;
Sgt. Brice A. Pearson, 32, of Phoenix; S
gt. Michael L. Vaughan, 20, of Otis, Ore.;
Spc. Jerry R. King, 19, of Browersville, Ga.;
Spc. Michael J. Rodriguez, 20, of Sanford, N.C.; and
Pfc. Garrett C. Knoll, 23, of Bad Axe, Mich.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force 82 and Defense Department news releases.)