Family members of Navy Reservist Stephen Byus have told the Columbus Dispatch the 39-year-old was one of two American troops killed in a suicide car bombing Tuesday near Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense has not yet officially released the names of the two American service members killed when a Toyota Corolla filled with explosives struck a coalition convoy roughly 200 yards from the U.S. Embassy.
Byus leaves behind his wife, Valerie. The couple celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary the day before he died. Byus is also survived by two children, Alexandria (Lexi), 9, and Jacob, 6.
According to the Athens (Ohio) Messenger, Byus and his family lived in the Columbus suburb of Reynoldsburg.
Columbus, Ohio television station WBNS-10TV reports Byus was on the phone with his wife Tuesday morning before the suicide bomber attacked his convoy:
