Afghan Soldier Kills Two U.S. Troops: U.S. Officials |

U.S. officials reported that an Afghan soldier gunned down and killed two American troops in Afghanistan on Monday.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed the deaths of the two service members, according to the Associated Press.

No other details have been released to the public yet, as information is being withheld for the next 24 hours before the next of kin are notified. The officials reported on anonymity and are not permitted to speak on the record on any information that has not yet been made public.

The killings occurred just hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that President Donald Trump wants to reduce the number of American troops stationed in Afghanistan before the 2020 election.

“I’d love to get to a place where I felt like we had enough counterterrorism posture still in the region and in the country that we could substantially reduce the number of soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines that are at risk there every day,” Pompeo told Fox News host Bret Baier in an interview July 25.

When asked about President Trump’s thoughts on the issue, Pompeo said, “Yeah. He’s said all along he wants to reduce our risk, reduce our cost in Afghanistan.”

They are the fourth and fifth American troops to be killed in Afghanistan in just over a month.