US Armed Service member killed in combat in Afghanistan

They are the second American service member killed in action 2019

An aerial view of The Pentagon building in Washington, USA (Getty)

An US military service member was killed in combat in Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The Department of Defence is withholding any further information until 24 hours after the next of kin is notified. The incident is currently under investigation.

"In accordance with US Department of Defence policy, the name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," a Pentagon statement said.

The recent killing marks the second American military service member killed in action in Afghanistan within the new year.

Army Sergeant Cameron Meddock, 26, died last week in a medical facility in Germany after being wounded during a combat operation in Badghis Prince, Afghanistan.

Mr Meddock, who was a resident of Amarillo, Texas, served in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

The Taliban unleashed a suicide attack on Monday in Maidan Wardack province on an Afghan intelligence base, resulting in the killings of a large number of National Directorate of Securitty personnel.

As of right now, there are about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan. The majority of the troops are serving in non-combat roles in collaboration with NATO-led training mission aimed at helping to train and advice local Afghan forces.

However, a number of US Special Operations Forces still conduct direct combat operatios as part of its counter terrorism missions against Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist network groups.

In December 2018, several US Defence officials reportedly said President Donald Trump is looking to reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan. He had intended to make the announcement during his 2019 State of the Union speech.