US military deaths in Afghan region at 966

(AP) - As of Friday, April 30, 2010, at least 966 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count.

The AP count is two more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

At least 753 military personnel have died in the Afghan region as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

Outside the Afghan region, the department reports at least 78 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, eight were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen.

The Defense Department also counts two military civilian deaths.

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The latest identifications reported by the military:

- Lance Cpl. Thomas E. Rivers Jr., 22, of Birmingham, Ala.; died April 28 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

- Sgt. Nathan P. Kennedy, 24, of Claysville, Pa.; died April 27 of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire in Afghanistan; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

- Sgt. Grant A. Wichmann, 27, of Golden, Colo.; died April 24 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington of wounds suffered March 12 when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire in Afghanistan; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

- Sgt. Ronald A. Kubik, 21, of Brielle, N.J., and Sgt. Jason A. Santora, 25, of Farmingville, N.Y.; died April 23 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered during combat operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

- Command Sgt. Maj. John K. Laborde, 53, of Waterloo, Iowa; died April 22 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from a noncombat-related incident; assigned to the 649th Regional Support Group, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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