American service member killed in Afghanistan as Trump vows US will ‘always’ stay there

An American serviceman was killed in Afghanistan in combat operations, NATO said in a statement. The news comes just a day after President Trump announced there would “always” be a US presence in the country.

The soldier died on Thursday during a combat mission, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan announced in a statement on Friday, but withheld the serviceman’s identity, per the organization’s policies.

The serviceman is the third American fatality in Afghanistan within the last 10 days – the seventeenth this year – with two other US soldiers killed in action last Wednesday.

President Trump earlier announced that 8,600 American soldiers would remain in the war-torn state even after a peace deal is reached with the Taliban, adding “we’re going to always have a presence.”

The war, which started in 2001, is now in its 18th year.

To date, the war in Afghanistan has cost American taxpayers $760 billion, according to Pentagon figures, while the overall US military budget continues to eclipse the next eight largest defense spenders combined.