Two U.S. military service members were killed Wednesday night in an anti-ISIS operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis.

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A third U.S. service member was wounded in action.

U.S. Department of Defense policy is to release the names of those killed in action 24 hours after next of kin notification.

"The fight against ISIS-K is important for the world but, sadly, it is not without sacrifice,” Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, said. “On behalf of all U.S. Forces and our coalition partners, I offer our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and fellow service members of our fallen comrades.”

ISIS-K stands for ISIS-Khorasan, a branch of the organization operating in the Khorasan region of Afghanistan.

Achin is the same district where a U.S. soldier was killed earlier this month and where the massive ordnance air blast (MOAB) bomb was dropped April 14.

During a Monday news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Nicholson said ISIS is attempting to establish a presence in Afghanistan, and the MOAB bomb was meant to send "a very clear message" to the group.

“I will say we were sending a very clear message to ISIS, not only to ISIS here in Afghanistan but also ISIS main,” Nicholson said. “If they come here to Afghanistan, they will be destroyed. In keeping secretary’s intent, they will be annihilated.”

President Trump has ordered a review of the U.S. policy in Afghanistan.

ABC News' Elizabeth McLaughlin contributed to this report.</s>KABUL: Two US service members were killed during an operation against Daesh militants in eastern Afghanistan overnight on Wednesday, US officials said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's administration looks to craft a strategy in the war-torn country.

US forces in Afghanistan said in a statement that a third US service member was wounded in the raid, carried out with Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) against the militants.

A spokesman for the US military in Afghanistan, Captain William Salvin said the deaths occurred in the same valley where the United States had dropped a massive bomb on a complex of fortified tunnel being used by Daesh.

Nicknamed "the mother of all bombs," the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb was dropped from an American MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan.

The incident comes just days after US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Afghanistan and US troops are battling suspected Daesh militants in Nangarhar province.

In this raid, Afghan commandos and coalition forces killed some 40 Daesh fighters during a joint operation, said Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the Nangarhar governor.

Khogyani said the raid was carried out against a Daesh hideout in Achin district and some 13 militants were taken alive.

Another US soldier was killed earlier in April while carrying out operations against Daesh in the same province.

US officials say intelligence suggests Daesh is based overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar province.

Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. US officials have said they believe the movement has only 700 fighters but Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.</s>Two American service members based in eastern Afghanistan were killed Wednesday night during an operation targeting Islamic State militants, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

The two service members, whose names have not yet been released, were killed in Nangarhar, an eastern Afghan province bordering Pakistan where much of the U.S.’s fight against ISIS militants has taken place. Attahullah Khogyani, a Nangarhar government spokesman, told Reuters the raid was conducted in coordination with Afghan and U.S. forces, and resulted in the deaths of 40 ISIS fighters.

The province is the same one where two weeks ago the U.S. military dropped one of its largest non-nuclear devices. Dubbed the “mother of all bombs,” the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) targeted caves and tunnels used by ISIS in the Achin district. The device’s use follows an overall increase in U.S. military airstrikes carried out in Afghanistan since the Trump administration took office.

As my colleague Krishnadev Calamur reported, ISIS is a relative newcomer to Afghanistan, with U.S. estimates putting the group’s numbers at around 700 fighters (though Afghan officials say it’s closer to 1,500). Still, the group enjoys a stronghold in Nangarhar province and has been able to claim a number of high-profile attacks, often against civilians. A U.S. special-operation forces soldier was killed in the fighting the area a few days before the U.S. dropped the “mother of all bombs.”</s>WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - Two U.S. service members were killed during an operation against Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan overnight on Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the incident took place in the southern Nangarhar province.

U.S. troops are battling suspected Islamic State fighting in Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan, where earlier this month the United States dropped a massive bomb known as "the mother of all bombs." (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Bernadette Baum)</s>Two US Special Operations Forces soldiers were killed Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan raid in the Achin District in Nangarhar Province, according to a US official.</s>Two US service members were killed Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life-threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.</s>Two US service members were killed Wednesday evening while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

The fight against ISIS-K is important for the world, but sadly, it is not without sacrifice,” said General Nicholson. “On behalf of all U.S. Forces and our coalition partners, I offer our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and fellow service members of our fallen comrades.”

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.</s>Two U.S. soldiers have been killed in fighting against an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, the U.S. military says.

 

 Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis on April 27 said the soldiers were killed during an operation on April 26 against ISIS Khorasan, an IS affiliate that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

 U.S. forces have been battling IS-linked militants in Nangarhar Province, where they have established themselves to battle against Afghan government forces.

 

 On April 13, the U.S. military dropped its most powerful nonnuclear weapon ever used in combat, killing, it said, 94 fighters in what was suspected to be a major militant command center in Nangarhar Province.

 

 CNN cited a U.S. official as saying the two soldiers killed on April 26 were members of the U.S. Special Forces and that another soldier had been wounded during the fighting in Nangarhar's southern district of Achin.

 

 The Pentagon said the soldiers were killed during a raid carried out jointly with Afghan government forces.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP</s>AFGHANISTAN — Two US service members were killed Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.

Check our FOX 4 newscasts, the fox4kc app and FOX 4 Kansas City Facebook page for more on how it happened and the names of these two service members who gave their life in the fight against terrorists.</s>(CNN) — Two US service members were killed and another was wounded Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan raid in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, according to Pentagon spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers, adding that the wounded soldier’s injuries are not considered life-threatening.

“The fight against ISIS-K is important for the world, but sadly, it is not without sacrifice,” said Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of US Forces-Afghanistan. “On behalf of all US forces and our coalition partners, I offer our deepest sympathies to the families, friends and fellow service members of our fallen comrades.”

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. A US Army Special Forces soldier was killed fighting the terror group there earlier this month.

It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Nicholson has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

“We’re going to keep going until they’re defeated in 2017,” Nicholson told reporters in Kabul this month.

Beginning in 2016, Afghan security forces backed by US military advisers have launched a major offensive against ISIS, with Nicholson saying that the terror group has lost about half of its fighters and been ejected from two-thirds of its territory.

The latest counter-ISIS push began in March of this year.

US officials estimate that ISIS has about 600 to 800 fighters in the country, largely formed from former members of other regional terror groups, including the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. ISIS is believed to be behind a series of terror attacks, including the recent deadly attack on a hospital in Kabul.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan. The US counterterrorism mission is separate from the NATO-led effort to train, advise and assist the Afghan army and police force in its fight against the Taliban.

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan are rare, having fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.
Two U.S. service members are killed and a third is injured during a raid against ISIL militants in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province.