Pentagon identifies soldier killed in airstrike

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department is releasing the name of the fifth American soldier who died last Monday in what’s been described as a friendly fire airstrike in Afghanistan.

He is 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Jason A. McDonald of Butler, Georgia.

McDonald and another soldier killed in the incident, 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Scott R. Studenmund of Pasadena, California, were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The others who died are:

–Twenty-five-year-old Spc. Justin R. Helton of Beaver, Ohio.

–Twenty-two-year-old Cpl. Justin R. Clouse of Sprague, Washington.

–Nineteen-year-old Pvt. 2nd Class Aaron S. Toppen of Mokena, Illinois.

All but McDonald had been identified earlier in news reports about their families receiving word of their deaths.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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