WASHINGTON — A Green Beret engaged in Army Special Operations has died of wounds suffered two weeks ago in a firefight with suspected terrorists in eastern Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher James Speer, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., was one of five American soldiers wounded on July 27 when a joint reconnaissance patrol was attacked 12 miles east of Khost, in eastern Paktia Province. Two allied Afghan militiamen were killed in the fight.
Speer died on Aug. 7, but the Defense Department withheld the announcement of his death until Monday at his family's request, a military spokesman said. Speer had been flown to Germany for medical care after the attack. The wounds to the four other Americans were not life-threatening.
About 50 soldiers and allied Afghan militiamen were trying to confirm intelligence about enemy activity in the area on July 27 when they came under small-arms fire and grenade attack as they approached a walled compound, commanders said at the time.
Special Forces and conventional troops were flown to the fight after the early afternoon ambush, putting a total of about 100 troops on the ground.
Speer was a 10-year Army veteran who spent the past eight years in the Army Special Forces.
So far, 38 Americans have been killed in combat and noncombat incidents in Afghanistan.