Anne Smedinghoff, 25, was killed Saturday, April 6, 2013, in southern Afghanistan, the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya. Five Americans -- including a U.S. diplomat , a civilian from the Defense Department and three U.S. service members -- were killed while delivering books to an Afghan school, when a suicide bomber struck their convoy in southern Afghanistan's Zabul province Saturday.  A young U.S. diplomat killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan was an up-and-comer in the State Department and loved working directly with residents of the country, those who knew her said Sunday.  Story highlights Anne Smedinghoff "was doing what she loved," her parents say 
 
 The 25-year-old is believed to be the first U.S. diplomat killed since Benghazi 
 
 Two civilians and 3 U.S. service members were killed delivering books to a school 
 
 At least 11 children killed in an Afghan/NATO operation Saturday, officials say 
 
 The death toll has surged from weekend violence in Afghanistan, with six Americans and more than a dozen Afghan civilians reportedly among the casualties. The diplomat's death was a grim reminder of the risks and importance of pushing for change in "one of the toughest places on earth," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. Four other State Department officials who were with her, traveling to a school in the southern province of Zabul, were injured in the same bombing, one critically, Kerry said in a statement. “She was everything a Foreign Service Officer should be: smart, capable, eager to serve, and deeply committed to our country and the difference she was making for the Afghan people,” Kerry said. Smedinghoff, 25, served as Kerry’s main embassy guide and aide during his two-day visit late last month. The diplomat began an assignment as a press officer in Kabul last summer after spending two years at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, where she worked in the consular section. Anne Smedinghoff's parents said in an emailed statement to The Washington Post that their daughter joined the foreign service straight out of college. "Working as a public diplomacy officer, she particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with the Afghan people and was always looking for opportunities to reach out and help to make a difference in the lives of those living in a country ravaged by war," they said. “We are consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world.” 
 
 The attacks came as Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Afghanistan to take stock of the war as U.S. officials continue to deliberate how quickly they should pull out the 68,000 American troops still deployed there. The blast, in an area that has long been a Taliban stronghold, killed three U.S. service members, the young diplomat and a U.S. Defense Department employee. Tom and Mary Beth Smedinghoff also said their daughter died doing what she loved.
– Among the six Americans killed in Afghanistan yesterday was 25-year-old foreign service officer Anne Smedinghoff, reports CNN, the first US diplomat to be killed since Chris Stevens died in September. John Kerry led the mourning for her today, saluting the "vivacious, smart" up-and-comer who assisted him during a visit just two weeks ago as "a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge." Smedinghoff died when her convoy was bombed in Zabul province. "I wish everyone in our country could see first-hand the devotion, loyalty, and amazingly hard and hazardous work our diplomats do on the front lines in the world's most dangerous places," said an emotional Kerry. Smedinghoff hailed from the Chicago area, notes the AP, and was a three-year veteran of the foreign service who had previously served in Venezuela. “We are consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world," her parents told the Washington Post. “The world lost a truly beautiful soul today.”