SAGINAW, MI (AP) -- The U.S. military says a 21-year-old combat medic from the Saginaw area was killed in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan.
The Defense Department said Monday that Army Pfc. Brian J. Backus of Saginaw County's Saginaw Township died Saturday in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
The military says Backus was wounded when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.
He was part of the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
Ford Drum says Backus joined the Army in June 2010 and underwent training at Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. It says he was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2011.
Fort Drum says he's survived by one child, one brother, father and mother.
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