A Denver man was among two soldiers killed in Afghanistan last weekend, the U.S. Department of Defense announced today.
Spc. Kedith L. Jacobs, 21, was supporting Operation Eduring Freedom when his unit was attacked by enemy forces on May 27. Pfc. Leroy Deronde, 22 of Jersey City, N.J., was also killed in the attack.
Jacobs was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Both soldiers were deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in eastern Afghanistan. The brigade deployed about 3,500 soldiers from Fort Bliss in October and will return to Texas this month
. The brigade is conducting combat operations and advising Afghan security forces.
There were 36 U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan in May, marking the deadliest month for American forces so far in 2012.
The American soldiers’ death toll in May brought the total U.S. fatalities since the war started in October 2001 to 1,881, including 124 this year.
About 60 Fort Bliss soldiers have died in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East.
