Maryland Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

The Pentagon says a soldier from Maryland has been killed in Afghanistan.

Thirty-four-year-old Staff Sgt. Matthew A. Pucino of Cockeysville died Monday in Pashay Kala, Afghanistan, when his mounted patrol unit was attacked with an IED.

Pucino was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group of the Maryland Army National Guard in Glen Arm.

Pucino is the 11th Maryland Army National Guardsman to die in the war on terror.

Pucino was deployed to Afghanistan in July 2009. He had also served in Iraq.

A native of Boston, Pucino enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2002. He earned a Green Beret as a Special Forces engineer sergeant.

Survivors include his wife Crystal of Clarksville, Tenn.; parents Albert and Kathryn Pucino of Orlando, Fla., and a sister, Lisa Haglof of Sagamore, Mass.