The Department of Defense announced the death of a U.S Army soldier from Chandler, Arizona on Saturday.
Defense officials said 26-year-old Staff Sergeant Alexander W. Conrad died on June 8 after sustaining injuries from indirect enemy fire.
Conrad was serving in Somalia supporting Operation Octave Shield and participating in a multi-day mission that included some 800 Somali and Kenyan troops. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which is based in Somalia and controls parts of the country's rural south and central regions, claimed responsibility for the attack.
He was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
My thoughts and prayers are with the families of our serviceman who was killed and his fellow servicemen who were wounded in Somalia. They are truly all HEROES.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
Four other members of the U.S. service were wounded.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Conrad's death from Sunday through Monday.
Officials said the incident surrounding his death is under investigation.
