Rest of Mayor of Utah, killed during his guard service in Afghanistan, to arrive in the United States

The remains of a National Guard soldier and Utah mayor killed in Afghanistan this weekend are expected to arrive in the United States on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Major Brent R. Taylor, 39, killed during an insider attack in Kabul on Saturday, was the mayor of North Ogden, husband and father of seven young children.

He served as the Utah Army National Guard based in Draper, Utah, and had conducted two rounds of combat in Iraq. He was commander of convoy security, then advisor to an Iraqi intelligence agency, according to the North Ogden City website biography. It was in his fourth deployment – a second tour to Afghanistan, according to the AP.

A dignified transfer of Taylor's mortal remains is scheduled for early Tuesday morning at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Rob Manning told reporters on Monday.

According to a NATO statement, another US serviceman injured during the attack is currently under medical treatment, but his condition is stable.

Utah Senator, Orrin Hatch, tweeted a picture with Taylor on Saturday, calling the soldier "a hero, a patriot, a wonderful father and a dear friend."

Utah Governor Gary Herbert said in a statement that he was "torn by the news" and "completely humiliated by the service and ultimate sacrifice offered by this brave and selfless soldier".

"The whole Herbert family is in mourning with this soldier's family and we pray that his burden will be lifted and that the heart of all the Utahns will rush to comfort him in their grief," reads the statement.

In his latest Facebook post on October 28th, Taylor encouraged everyone to vote and all for unity.

"As the United States prepares to vote in our own elections next week, I hope that all citizens will exercise their precious right to vote, whether Republicans or Democrats win it, we Let's all remember that we have many more Americans who unite us than we divide. "United we stand, divided we fall." God bless America, "he wrote.

Taylor was elected Mayor of North Ogden in 2013 having served on the City Council since 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Brigham Young University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from University of Utah, according to the North Ogden website. He was a current Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah in International Relations.

The 17,000 residents of North Ogden mourn the loss of the mayor of their city – the municipal government wrote in a statement on its website that Taylor had "a profound influence on this community."

Francisco Kjolseth / The Salt Lake Tribune, via AP

"He was the best of men with the ability to see the potential and the possibility in everything around him," the statement said. "We feel blessed to have had him as mayor."

"He had great love and vision for this community," he added. "He was deeply patriotic and was a shining example of what an American politician should be – we are grateful for the services he has rendered both to our city and to our country. feel for years. "

Three attacks of Afghan insiders in three weeks

Taylor's death marks the third insider attack in Afghanistan over the last three weeks.

On October 18, a member of the Afghan forces targeted prominent American and Afghan generals in Kandahar, killing the well-known police chief of the province, General Abdul Raziq, and wounding the US Brigade. General Jeffrey Smiley, who was later transferred to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Also present during the chaotic attack, the US General Superior commanding all US troops in Afghanistan who escaped unscathed.

The event has "deeply upset the relationship between Afghan and US forces," according to a New York Times investigation into the deadly attack by an insider.

Four days later, a Czech soldier was killed and two others injured during another insider attack in Herat Province, in western Afghanistan.

The number of insider attacks in Afghanistan peaked at 61 in 2012, but it had become rarer after the US military put security measures in place to protect US troops.

ABC Martinez, Luis Martinez, contributed to this report from the Pentagon.