UPDATE: 3 Ohio soldiers killed in Afghanistan identified

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Three U.S. soldiers killed in a suicide attack this week in Afghanistan were from Ohio, as were several others seriously wounded in the bombing, the Ohio National Guard said Thursday.

The soldiers killed in the attack Wednesday in Maimanah, the capital of Faryab province, were from the Guard’s 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

The brigade is based in Columbus but includes soldiers from across Ohio, the Guard said. All three soldiers killed were from Franklin County.

Among the victims were Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Hannon, 44, who also worked as chief legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Veterans Services; Capt. Nicholas J. Rozanski, 36, of Dublin; and Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey J. Rieck, 45, of Columbus..

“Shawn felt it was a privilege to serve his country and did so honorably for almost 20 years. He was proud to be a soldier and all who loved him knew it,” his family said in a statement.

Hannon joined the state veterans agency last year.

No further information is available at this hour about the other two Ohio soldiers.

The attack, by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle, killed at least 13 people Wednesday at a park in a relatively peaceful area of northern Afghanistan. It was part of an increase in violence at the start of the spring fighting season.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility. The bomber’s target was unclear. The attacks appear to be part of an increase in violence. The Taliban are targeting Afghan and NATO security forces as they fight to assert power and undermine U.S. efforts to build up the Afghan military.

This week, gunmen also attacked an outpost of a government-sponsored militia and killed 10 members of the security force, and another suicide bomber killed two people and wounded 16 others Thursday.