More Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq

Military personnel are dying from combat in Afghanistan, and non-combat related incidents in Iraq.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Department of Defense has announced the deaths of four servicemen who have died in recent days fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

People mentioned in this report lost their lives due to mine detonation, an explosion from an improvised explosive device, and two of the deaths are non-combat related. What sets the circumstances apart is that both in Iraq were non-combat related, and both deaths in Afghanistan were a direct result of combat. Army Specialist Israel Candelaria Mejias, 28, of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, died April 5th near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when a mine detonated near him during combat operations.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment in Task Force 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Army Sergeant Daniel J. Beard, 24, of Buffalo, New York, died April 3rd in Al Diwaniyah, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 147th Postal Company, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Wiesbaden, Germany.

The military reports that the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Phillip A Myers, 30, of Hopewell Virginia, died April 4th near Helmand province, Afghanistan of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom.

Sergeant Devin C. Poche, 25, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, died Mar. 31st at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, according to the DoD.