Utah mayor killed while serving in Afghanistan

A Utah mayor and Army National Guard major deployed to Afghanistan died after one of his Afghan trainees shot him, officials confirmed Sunday. Brent Taylor, 39, had taken a one-year leave of absence from his role as mayor of North Ogden, Utah, to serve in Afghanistan. He worked as a military intelligence officer training members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Another unidentified U.S. soldier sustained injuries in the attack. The attacker was killed by Afghan forces, according to a NATO statement.

Taylor was expected to resume his mayoral duties in January after his tour ended. He previously served two tours in Iraq and was completing his second in Afghanistan. “Brent was a hero, a patriot, a wonderful father, and a dear friend,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, wrote on Twitter. Taylor is survived by his wife and seven children.

The attack is the latest in which Afghan forces turned their weapons on coalition forces. Last month, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, escaped unhurt when an Afghan security guard opened fire during a meeting between U.S. and Afghan officials, killing two senior Afghan officials and wounding three Americans.