US Diplomat Killed on Afghan Mission

It could have been diplomat Anne Smedinghoff’s kind of day, an opportunity to reach out to the war-torn people of Afghanistan, until a suicide bomber hit her convoy Saturday.

The 25-year-old press officer for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was among the five Americans killed in the suicide bomb attack in Qualat, Zabul while delivering books to an Afghan school.

The other Americans killed in the attack were three U.S. service members and a civilian from the Defense Department.

Smedinghoff graduated with a degree in international relations in Johns Hopkins University in 2009 and joined the Foreign Service soon after. She was described by her close friends as fearless and passionate for her calling to take part in foreign affairs.

In a statement by Tom and Beth Smedinghoff, their daughter loved her work in Kabul and by her death, the “world lost a truly beautiful soul”.

Smedinghoff was the first diplomat killed on the job since the September attack on Ambassador Chris Stevens and four others in Libya.

Secretary of State John Kerry said that her death is a reminder of the importance of pushing for change in Afghanistan, “one of the toughest places on earth”.

Kerry also condemned how a brave American driven to help educate children was killed by “cowardly terrorists determined to bring darkness and death”.

Adapted by: Easterlyn Kwan Benigay

Sources: cnn.com