Attack in Afghanistan killed Illinois soldier, Oklahoma man
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FAIRVIEW, Ill. — A decorated U.S. soldier from Illinois and an Army civilian employee from Oklahoma who both had been deployed multiple times to support military operations in Afghanistan were killed in an attack this week in Kabul, the Defence Department said.
Army Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, 26, of Fairview, Illinois, and Michael G. Sauro, 40, of McAlester, Oklahoma, died of wounds received when they encountered hostile enemy forces in Afghanistan’s capital, the military announced Thursday.
“Mike was the type of person who no matter what you asked of him, he was always willing to lend a helping hand to everybody,” said Deborah Schreiner, chief of HAZMAT Training at the Defence Ammunition Center, Oklahoma, where Sauro was assigned. “He was such a joy to work with and always so upbeat.”
The Defence Department initially said in a statement that the men died Thursday, but later confirmed the deaths were Wednesday. NATO and an Afghan official said a man wearing an Afghan army uniform had killed a U.S. service member and an American civilian Wednesday in Kabul. NATO said another U.S. service member and two U.S. civilians were wounded in the attack.
