Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A U.S. service member died Friday while serving in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, military officials said.
NATO and the U.S. Department of Defense didn't offer details on what led to the death, nor did they identify the service member.
"In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the name of the service member is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," a statement from NATO read.
There are about 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, 15 of whom have died since the beginning of 2019. NATO's Resolute Support mission is to advise and assist Afghan forces and conduct counterterrorism operations against groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida.
The service member's death came one day after President Donald Trump announced plans to maintain a presence of 8,600 troops in Afghanistan in the midst of a large-scale withdrawal from the country.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the two sides were close to a deal that would have the United States and foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a commitment from the Taliban to not use the nation to launch terrorist attacks against the United States.
Full removal of troops from Afghanistan has faced criticism from some opponents who fear such a withdrawal could allow for a resurgence of terrorist groups in the country.
Daniel Uria contributed to this report.
