KABUL: A US service member was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday, theNATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement, bringing the UScombat death toll this year to eight.

The identity of the service member and details about the incident will beshared at a later stage, said Debra Richardson spokesperson for theResolute Support in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon says there are about 14,000 US service members in Afghanistan.The US military’s mission is focused mainly on guiding and aiding Afghanforces battling the Taliban, which was ousted from power in 2001.

More than 2,400 US forces have died in the 17-year-old war, America’slongest conflict.

In July this year, one US service member was killed and two others woundedin an apparent insider attack in southern Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Taliban had said a member of the Afghan security forcesopened fire on US troops in the southern province of Uruzgan, killing fourpeople and wounding several others.