Three Alaska-based soldiers die in Afghanistan bombing - Anchorage Daily News

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Three Alaska-based soldiers die in Afghanistan bombing - Anchorage Daily News

The Associated Press

Published: May 16th, 2011 05:15 PM
Last Modified: May 16th, 2011 05:15 PM

Three Fort Wainwright soldiers were killed today in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb.

Army officials say the incident happened while the soldiers from the just-deployed 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team were on patrol in their armored vehicles Monday afternoon in the town of Spin Ghbarga in Zabul Province of southern Afghanistan.

A fourth soldier, assigned to the unit the Alaska-based soldiers are replacing, also was killed.

Officials say two other soldiers from the brigade were wounded.

Commanders say one of the most dangerous times in a deployment cycle is the transition phase from one unit to another. An Army spokesman said he didn't know whether the two forces were engaged in a joint patrol as part of the transition.

The 4,000 soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, began deploying to Afghanistan in mid-April.

Army officials say that during the unit's last deployment, from September 2008 to August 2009, it experienced five combat and two noncombat deaths.

Names of the soldiers killed were not released pending notification of relatives.