A soldier who was killed in action Monday in eastern Afghanistan has been identified.
Spc. Gabriel D. Conde, 22, of Loveland, Colorado, died as a result of enemy small army fire in the Tagab district of Kapisa province, Afghanistan, according to releases from the Army and Department of Defense.
He was an airborne infantryman in 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, according to officials with the base.
Conda had deployed to Afghanistan with his brigade last September in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the ongoing counterinsurgency and security effort in Afghanistan.
According to a release from Elmendorf-Richardson, Conde first enlisted in August 2015, and had been assigned to U.S. Army Alaska since April 2016.
Officials said the circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation.
Conde is the second service member to die this year while deployed in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
Another soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin, was killed in action Jan. 1 in Nangarhar province, to the south of Kapisa. According to reports, Golin, of 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), died when his foot patrol was attacked by enemy small-arms fire.
To date, 48 U.S. troops have died since Operation Freedom's Sentinel began at the formal end of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan in 2015, 32 of them in hostile encounters. Some 270 troops have been wounded in action.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
