A suicide bombing attack in Bagram, Afghanistan killed six American NATO members Monday, including West Harrison resident Joseph Lemm, an NYPD Detective and National Guardsman.
The attack targeted a joint Afghan/NATO force patrol around 1:30 pm in Bagram’s Bajawri region, according to a CNN report. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Lemm has been deployed three times, twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq.
“Detective Joseph Lemm epitomized the selflessness we can only strive for: putting his country and city first,” New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said in a statement.
Detective Lemm served as an NYPD officer for 15 years before being promoted to detective in the Bronx Warrant Squad in January last year. Lemm is survived by his wife and two children.
The attack brings this year’s death toll of NATO service members in Afghanistan to 25, according to CNN. This number has gradually dropped each year since reaching 711 deaths in 2010.
