US service member killed in Afghanistan

KABUL: A U.S. service member was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement.

It gave no further details and withheld the name of the service member until the next of kin were informed.

The latest fatality brings the tally of U.S. service member deaths in Afghanistan to at least seven in 2019.

About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. Some U.S. forces carry out counter-terrorism operations against hardline Islamist militant groups.

A record 3,804 Afghan civilians were killed last year due to stepped-up air attacks by U.S.-led forces and more suicide bombings, the United Nations said in a February report.

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to secure a political settlement with the Taliban to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan. The Taliban, however, demand a complete foreign force pull-out before entering into a formal peace agreement.