The Pentagon says the two soldiers killed Saturday in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb were from Virginia and Illinois.
On Sunday, military officials identified the casualties as 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin of Newport News, and 21-year-old Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon of Joliet, Illinois.
Both soldiers were assigned to 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The Pentagon says their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province. Two other soldiers were injured.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has expressed his condolences to the families of two the soldiers.
Northam said in statement released Monday that their loss is a reminder that American service members “continue to do dangerous work in pursuit of peace.”