December 22, 2015
A Montgomery County native was among six American military members who died Monday in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan, according to NBC10.com.
Air Force Staff Sergeant Peter Taub died when a suicide bomber riding a motorbike struck Taub's patrol near Bagram Air Base, located about 25 miles north of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The Department of Defense has not yet officially identified Taub, but his family confirmed the death on the Facebook page of Bub and Pop's, a Washington, D.C., sandwich shop owned by Taub's family. Another message was posted to the restaurant's website.
“My son, Chef Jon's brother, Staff Sargeant Peter Taub was one of six killed yesterday in Afghanistan,” the shop owner posted. “The restaurant is closed for the rest of this week.”
Taub, 30, graduated from Cheltenham High School in 2004, NBC10.com reported. He left behind a pregnant wife and a 3-year-old daughter, according to The Associated Press. He was deployed to Afghanistan in October after being stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
The other five victims also have been identified, including Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen, one of the first openly gay service members to get married. The other victims were Joseph Lemm, Chester McBride Jr., Michael Anthony Cinco and Louis Bonacasa.
The suicide bombing came just days after other suicide attacks on Kandahar air base in southern Afghanistan and on a Spanish embassy guesthouse in the Afghan capital, Kabul. District Governor Abdul Shukur Qudusi said the suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol.
Bagram is one of the main bases for the 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
