Three South Carolina National Guard soldiers were killed a Wednesday suicide bombing in Afghanistan.
1st Lt. Ryan Rawl was a Richland County Sheriff’s deputy outside of his military career (Courtesy: RCSD)
The South Carolina National Guard announced the three were killed and five injured in Wednesday’s suicide bombing in the country’s Khowst Province. It was the largest single loss of life ever for the Guard in Afghanistan.
The dead are 1st Lt. Ryan Davis Rawl, 30, of Lexington; Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Bradford Thomas, 30, of Easley; and Spc. John David Meador II, 36, of Columbia. The names of the wounded were not released.
According to national reports, the suicide bomber attacked a joint U.S.-Afghan military convoy Wednesday. Besides the three South Carolinians, two policemen, an interpreter and 14 civilians were also killed in the attack, those reports said.
All eight were part of the 133rd Military Police Company, based in Timmonsville and known as the “Palmetto Regulators.” The Guard said the company was in Afghanistan to train members of the Afghan Uniformed Police in Khowst Province and was scheduled to return home in August.
The S.C. National Guard has deployed more than 12,000 troops in Afghanistan since the war began there in 2002.
Jay Harper contributed to this report
