Marine from Texas killed in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Marine from Texas serving in Afghanistan has been killed.

The Defense Department says 26-year-old Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz of San Antonio died Saturday while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province.

Ruiz was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans.

Further details on the death were not immediately released by the Pentagon.

About 20 relatives gathered Tuesday night in San Antonio to remember Ruiz. The San Antonio Express-News reports his mother, Maria Ruiz, was celebrating her birthday on Halloween when she learned that her son had been killed the same day in a roadside bombing.

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Information from San Antonio Express-News: www.mysa.com

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