An American soldier who died after being stabbed near the Kabul airport in Afghainstan has been identified as Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew I. Leggett, 39, of Ruskin, Florida.
According to the Department of Defense, Leggett died Aug. 20 in Kabul "of injuries received when he was engaged by the enemy."
Witnesses to the attack told the New York Times:
The victim [Leggett] got out of his vehicle with an interpreter to speak to policemen at a checkpoint and was then stabbed by someone who escaped on a motorcycle, witnesses said. A foreign woman also got out of the vehicle and helped get the victim back into their car, which then left the scene.
Leggett was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
UPI reports on the alleged assailant:
Kabul's police chief said the victim was stabbed in the neck by an alleged low-level Taliban member who was arrested and confessed to the crime.
Leggett was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
According to the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, Leggitt is survived by his mother, Thea Marie Kurtz, and his father, Thomas Leggett.
In 2010, Leggitt videotaped a holiday message in Iraq for his family. Take a look below:
