Army Spc. Terry J. Hurne, 34, was one of five U.S. troops killed in a friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan, his father, Norman Hurne confirmed to The Associated Press.
Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai, the police chief in Zabul, told The Los Angeles Times:
Afghan and international forces had carried out a joint operation against Taliban fighters in Arghandab on Monday. At the end of the day, the forces returned to their base, where at about 9 p.m. they came under fire from Taliban rockets, Rogh Lewanai said.
Coalition forces on the ground called for airstrikes against the Taliban, which mistakenly hit the Afghan and international troops, he said.
He was assigned to the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.
Hurne grew up in Merced, California and graduated from Atwater High School in 1998. Norman Hurne told the Merced Star-Sun that his son was just weeks away from returning home:
“He couldn’t discuss what he was doing over there, but he was looking forward to getting out of there.
"He was trying to make the best of every day.”
Norman Hurne said of his son:
“Everybody loved him. He always had a smile on his face.
“I’m going through memories right now, all the way through his childhood.”
