Three U.S. service members were killed and three were wounded in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated Tuesday, NATO officials said.
An American contractor was also wounded when the device detonated near Ghazni city, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a military vehicle was destroyed.
The Defense Department on Wednesday identified the service members who were killed as Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, 29, of Lexington, Virginia; Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, 39, of Brush Prairie, Washington; and Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, 25, of Hookstown, Pennsylvania.
Ross and Emond were assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Elchin was assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, the Defense Department said. Emond was a native of Fall River, Mass., NBC Boston reported.
The Taliban is active in Ghazni province and tried to take over the capital of Ghazni city in August. Ghazni is Afghanistan's only province that didn't hold a parliamentary election in October.
The contractor and the three wounded service members were evacuated and being treated for their injuries.
On Saturday, Army Sgt. Leandro A.S. Jasso, 25, from Washington state was killed in Afghanistan's Helmand province by small arms fire, according to Defense Department officials.
An initial military review indicates he was likely accidentally shot by a member of the Afghan Security Forces which works in conjunction with the U.S. military.
"There are no indications he was shot intentionally," a Resolute Support statement said.
