Two U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Georgia were killed in Afghanistan on Thursday during a ground assault against fighters from the Islamic State, military officials said Friday.

Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, of Bloomington, Ill., and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, of Kettering, Ohio, died in Nangarhar Province, according to multiple reports.

U.S. forces were accompanying Afghan troops on a raid when they came under fire, according to Navy Capt. Bill Salvin, the U.S. military spokesman in Kabul. Dozens of ISIS fighters also were killed.

The U.S. and Afghan troops flew in by helicopter, then advanced on foot, the spokesman said.

The soldiers were stationed at Fort Benning, which is near Columbus.

The raid was in the same region of Afghanistan where the U.S. dropped the so-called “mother of all bombs” on an ISIS complex two weeks ago.

In other news:

About the Author

Keep Reading

ajc.com

Credit: AJC

Featured

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

Credit: Arvin Temkar / AJC