Soldier becomes 4th service member killed in Nov. 27 blast

The Pentagon has identified a U.S. soldier who died Sunday from injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device (IED) a week earlier in eastern Afghanistan.

Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary, 24, from Export, Pa., died Dec. 2, in Landstuhl, Germany, as a result of injuries from an IED on Nov. 27 in Andar, Ghazni Province, according to a Defense Department statement.

{mosads}McClary — who was supporting the U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel — was assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

McClary’s death brings the total to four service members killed in the blast. In addition, two others were wounded, as was a U.S. contractor, in one of the deadliest attacks this year in the country.

The incident is still under investigation.

More than 2,400 U.S. forces have died in the Afghanistan conflict since it began 17 years ago, including 12 this year.

Roughly 15,000 U.S. service members are based in the country, predominantly to assist Afghan security forces against the Taliban and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria-aligned fighters.

The Taliban currently has control of nearly half of the country, routinely carrying out attacks on government officials and local security forces.

In an attempt to bring about an end to the violence, the Trump administration has moved to push the Taliban to peace talks. So far no such deal has solidified.