The attack killed (left to right) Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines and Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman. (United States Marine Corps)
The three U.S. Marines killed on Monday in an IED blast in Afghanistan while in a convoy near Bagram Airfield were identified and included a firefighter from New York.
The Taliban suicide bombing killed Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, 43, Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31.
They were the first U.S. Marines killed in combat in over three years, as military.com noted.
An Afghan security force stand guard at the site a day after an a suicide attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
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Slutman was a 15-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department who served in the reserves. He had a wife and three daughters.
"Through this trying time, we will remember Chris for the father, husband, brother, son, and friend that he was, the moral character he displayed daily, and the courage and conviction to serve his fellow Americans, both at home and abroad," the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department wrote on Facebook said on Facebook.
Hines was from York, Pa., and Hendriks was from Locust Valley, N.Y.
All three were from the 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve.
Several others were injured in the attack.
There are about 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, supporting embattled Afghan forces as they struggle on two fronts — facing a resurgent Taliban who now hold sway over almost half the country and also the Islamic State affiliate, which has sought to expand its footprint in Afghanistan even as its self-proclaimed “caliphate” has crumbled in Syria and Iraq.
Last year, 13 U.S. service members were killed in Afghanistan.
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The Taliban have continued to carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces despite holding several rounds of peace talks with the United States in recent months. The Taliban have refused to meet with the Afghan government, which they view as a U.S. puppet.
Bagram Airfield is the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
