The U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed the death of a West Virginia soldier in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department said Wednesday that Sgt. 1st Class Jamie S. Nicholas and two other soldiers died when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device Monday in Yakhchal.

Killed along with Nicholas, a 32-year-old resident of Maysel in Clay County, were 29-year-old Capt. Richard G. Cliff Jr. from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and 33-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Gary J. Vasquez from Round Lake, Illinois.

The men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.