BISMARCK Two North Dakota National Guard soldiers doing military police work have been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan.

The soldiers were members of the Security Forces of the 188th Air Defense Artillery, which is based in Grand Forks and has a battery in Bismarck, Guard officials said. The unit was mobilized last Dec. 1, and arrived in Afghanistan on March 23, Guard spokesman Rob Keller said.

Keller said today that the two soldiers are the first North Dakota Guard members to die in Afghanistan. A third member of the unit was wounded, he said.

The Guard did not immediately release the names of the soldiers or the condition of the wounded one. Families were notified Tuesday.

"The unit was conducting a route reconnaissance in the vicinity south of Jalalabad," Keller said. "An improvised explosive device or tank mine detonated."

We must honor their service and their sacrifice by completing the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.