Hurlburt officer among two shot

One of the two U.S. officers shot in the head at a ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, has been identified as an officer with the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Lt. Col. John Darin Loftis, 866th Air Expeditionary Squadron, died Saturday. Loftis, 44, of Paducah, Ky., and a major were found shot inside the heavily guarded Afghan Ministry of the Interior building. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the killings were in retaliation for the burning of Korans. Loftis was the chief plans advisor and part of a cadre of specially trained U.S. service members skilled in Afghan and Pakistani culture and language. (Sources: from combined reports, including AFNS, 02/26/12)