A former Tacoma, Washington resident was among the U.S. troops killed in the crash of a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan over the weekend, the Kansas City Star reported Monday.

Army Spc. Alexander Bennett, 23, reportedly moved to Overland Park, Kansas after returning from his 2009 deployment to Iraq. He served as a flight mechanic in the Army Reserve’s Chinook unit.

The 30 U.S. troops and eight Afghans who died in the crash in eastern Afghanistan Saturday were on a mission targeting a Taliban leader. An insurgent with a rocket-propelled grenade reportedly fired on the chopper and shot it down, the U.S.-led coalition said Monday.

It was deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war.

by KING 5 News and Associated Press