On Wednesday evening a U.S. Marine Corps carry team transferred the remains of Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, of Simi Valley, California, at Dover Air Force Base.
Pongo, 34, was killed alongside Captain Moises A. Navas, 34, of Germantown, Maryland on March 8, 2020, while supporting Iraqi Security Forces in north-central Iraq.
Both Marines were assigned to 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, Marine Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
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Pongo and Navas’ deaths came just days before Wednesday’s Katyusha rocket attack that killed two more Americans and one Briton. The rockets struck Camp Taji north of Baghdad, where the U.S. and other coalition troops are based, officials said Wednesday.
Three international personnel were killed in the attack and about a dozen others were injured, according to a statement released by the military. The statement did not provide a breakdown by nationality.
“The names of the personnel are withheld pending next of kin notification, in accordance with national policies,” read the statement.