1 US soldier killed, 4 wounded in Afghanistan as Trump prepares to deploy thousands of more troops

• One US soldier was killed and 4 more were wounded on New Year's Day in Afghanistan. 
• The casualties came as President Donald Trump prepares to send thousands of more troops into the wartorn country. 

The US military says an American soldier has been killed fighting in eastern Afghanistan.

A military statement issued Tuesday said four other soldiers were wounded during a "combat engagement" on January 1 in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. It said two of the wounded were in stable condition and the other two have returned to duty.

Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, expressed condolences, saying “we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own.”

The US casualties happened as President Donald Trump prepares to send thousands of more troops into Afghanistan, according to The Hill, despite defense experts saying it won't make much of a difference in breaking the current stalemate. 

Trump sent 3,000 troops to the wartorn country last summer, bringing the current number of troops in Afghanistan to 14,000.

The war in Afghanistan, going on 17 years now, is the longest-running war in US history and costs American taxpayers about $3.1 billion a month. 

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