U.S. Marines are engulfed in a storm of dust and debris as a helicopter lands to transport them from their operating base in southern Afghanistan. (image credit David Furst/AFP/Getty)
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - The Pentagon says soldiers from North Carolina and Florida have been killed in combat in Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense says 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Justin C. Marquez of Aberdeen and 27-year-old Warrant Officer Joseph L. Schiro of Coral Springs, Fla., were killed Saturday.
Officials say they died from gunshot wounds while participating in a patrol in the Wardak province of Afghanistan.
The men were assigned to the 1st Special Forces Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg.