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The Pentagon has identified the two soldiers who were killed in a June 21 rocket attack on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Ricky D. Jones, of the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, and Spc. Rodrigo A. Munguia Rivas, of the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, were killed in the attack, which also wounded six other American troops and civilians.

Jones, 26, was listed as being from Plantersville, Ala.

According to the Selma Times-Journal, Jones was known by friends and family as “Mojo,” and had been a star running back on his high-school football team.

Jones’ mother, Shelia McCrary, told the paper that the military said he was killed when a rocket hit his living quarters on the base, about 50 kilometers from Kabul. McCrary said she last talked to Jones when he called her Friday night.

“He was feeling fine,” she was quoted as saying. “His son’s birthday was coming up and he said he was sending something.”

According to the paper, Jones had three children.

Rivas, 27, was listed as being from Germantown, Md. He had just begun active-duty service with the Army about a year ago, officials said, and was working as a vehicle driver in his unit.

The Washington Post quoted family friends as describing Rivas as “bright, good-natured and friendly, someone who could be described as‘simpatico.’ ” He was an only child, survived by his mother and stepfather.

The rocket attack on Bagram was a relatively rare incident. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.

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