(CNN) Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, and an energetic and beloved figure in Utah politics, was killed Saturday in an incident in Afghanistan, where he was serving as a member of the state National Guard, the Pentagon announced Sunday.

The unexpected death of Taylor, who was months from finishing his tour and is survived by seven children and his wife Jennie, drew an outpouring of grief in Utah and on social media late Saturday.

Last month on his 15th wedding anniversary, Taylor penned a post on Facebook about his "rock star wife," who he said had been "superwoman through birthing and raising seven children, and through four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan."

The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that Taylor was killed in the attack, but did not offer additional details of the attack.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and Maj. Gen. Jefferson S. Burton, the state National Guard adjutant general, plan to hold a press conference at noon on Sunday to discuss the details of the incident. In a press release, the Utah National Guard said an unnamed guardsman was killed in Kabul Saturday in "an apparent insider attack" by an Afghan soldier. The incident is under investigation.

Read More