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U.S. sailor is 3,000th Afghanistan war death

Posted at 7:18 PM, May 25, 2012
and last updated 2012-05-25 19:18:57-04

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) – A U.S. sailor who died last week of medical complications was the 3,000th death among coalition forces in the Afghanistan war, according to CNN’s count based on information provided by the U.S. Defense Department and the International Security Assistance Force.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson, 26, of Shasta, California, died May 20 in Manama, Bahrain, the Defense Department reported in an e-mail Friday.

Wilson, assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain, was supporting the Afghanistan mission, the e-mail said.

He was the 1,974th U.S. death in the war that started October 7, 2001, and the 3,000th overall death from the U.S.-led international coalition engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom.

The coalition includes 50 countries. Britain has the second-largest number of dead from the mission at 414, according to the CNN figures.

CNN’s Emily Smith contributed to this report.