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"The soldier was
mortally wounded late Saturday during an operation in Nangarhar
Province" in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin
said in a message on the official Twitter account of the
NATO-led Resolute Support mission.
The soldier was a Special Forces operator, Salvin told Reuters
separately.
The circumstances of the death were unclear and Salvin said more
information could be released later.
Islamic State's offshoot in Afghanistan, known as the Sunni
jihadist group's so-called Khorasan Province, is suspected of
carrying out several attacks on minority Shi'ite Muslim targets.
U.S. officials say intelligence suggests Islamic State is based
overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar province.
Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. U.S. officials
have said they believe the movement has only 700 fighters but
Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.
The Afghan Taliban, which is trying to overthrow the U.S.-backed
government in Kabul, is fiercely opposed to Islamic State and
the two have clashed as they seek to expand territory and
influence.
(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati and Idrees Ali; Editing by Leslie
Adler and Bill Trott)
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