KABUL, Dec 23 — A US service member was killed in action in Afghanistan today, the US military said in a statement.

It gave no further details and withheld the name of the service member until the next of kin were informed.

More than a dozen foreign force members have been killed in Afghanistan in 2019.

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No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for any attack on US forces.

About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of a US-led Nato mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. Some US forces carry out counter-terrorism operations against Islamist militant groups.

The United States has been in negotiations with Taliban militants over the past year on a deal under which the United States could withdraw its forces from its longest war in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

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This month, US negotiators said they would take a break from the talks after the insurgents launched a suicide attack on a large US base.

The Taliban control more territory than at any point since they were ousted from power in 2001. — Reuters