Utah mayor killed in 'insider attack' in Afghanistan
The mayor of a Utah city until his deployment was identified as the U.S.
servicemember killed after what NATO called an "apparent insider
attack" in Afghanistan.
Another unidentified servicemember was also wounded in the attack Saturday.
Brent Taylor, a major with the Utah Army National Guard, was identified
as the servicemember killed, according to a Facebook post by North Ogden
City Councilman Phillip Swanson. He was elected to the City Council of
North Ogden, about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City, in 2009 and became
the full-time mayor in 2013, according to the city council website.
North Ogen's population is 19,465, according to 2017 U.S. Census
estimates.
Taylor, 39, temporarily left his post as mayor in January to deploy to
Afghanistan, according to his biography on North Ogden's website.
Previously, he served 12 years as an officer in the United States Army
National Guard, including seven years on active duty, as well as two
tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We are devastated by the loss of our Mayor and friend, Brent Taylor,"
the city said on its Facebook page. "Brent had a profound influence on
this community. He was the best of men with the ability to see potential
and possibility in everything around him."
He and his wife Jennie have seven children.
A GoFundMe account has raised $102,878 of a $250,000 goal as of Sunday morning.
Taylor was a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah in international
relations after receiving a Bachelor of Arts at Brigham Young in
political science and a Master of Public Administration from the
Unifersity of Utah.
Operation Resolute Support said in a news release Saturday it is
investigating the incident, which is suspected of being carried out by a
member of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
It said initial reports indicate other Afghan Forces killed the attacker.
Both U.S. service members were evacuated from the scene to Bagram
Airfield. Operation Resolute Support did not immediately identify the
service member who was killed, but said the service member who was
injured is stable.
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