ATLANTA — Nine soldiers from eight states were killed in an insurgent raid that penetrated an American outpost in eastern Afghanistan over the weekend, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
The soldiers, including one from Seattle, were killed in the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since June 2005, when 16 American soldiers were killed as a rocket-propelled grenade shot down their helicopter.
The men killed Sunday were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airbone Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy.
Their newly built outpost in Wanat was attacked before dawn Sunday by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.
A former provincial governor in the region said scores of attackers included a mix of Afghan- and Pakistan-based militants, some with al-Qaida links.
A NATO official said they used houses, shops and a mosque for cover during the hours-long battle before American soldiers managed to drive out the attackers and call in air support from attack helicopters. The official said dozens were killed and about 40 were wounded.
The soldiers killed were:
— 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.
— Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.
— Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.
— Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle.
— Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.
— Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Ga.
— Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.
— Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo.
— Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky.
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