The mayor of a Utah town who was deployed in Afghanistan as a member of the state’s National Guard has been killed in an ‘insider attack’, the military said.

Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, was killed in an attack perpetrated by a member of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in the capital city of Kabul.

The ANSF has been fighting alongside the United States and other Western countries in their effort to assert government control over Afghanistan.

Friends of the Taylor family confirmed his death, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. He is survived by his wife, Jennie, and their seven children.

Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, was killed in an attack perpetrated by a member of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in the capital city of Kabul, the Utah National Guard said

He was sent to Afghanistan in January as part of President Donald Trump's troop increase. Taylor is seen in Afghanistan in a photo he posted to Facebook on October 17

Family friends confirmed Taylor's death. Officials say another U.S. service member is being treated for wounds sustained in the attack in Kabul on Saturday. Taylor is seen with one of his sons on a fishing trip in August

He is survived by his wife, Jennie, and their seven children. This photo was posted on Facebook this past September

Taylor wrote on his Facebook page on September 18: 'My rock star wife has been superwoman through birthing and raising seven children, and through four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and over five total years of separation for military service.'

Officials say another U.S. service member is being treated for wounds sustained in the attack in Kabul on Saturday.

A statement from a spokeswoman for the NATO-led Operation Resolute Support says the attacker was a member of the Afghan security forces and that initial reports indicate the assailant was immediately killed by other Afghan forces.

'My heart breaks for the loss and sacrifice of our Soldier, particularly for the family,' said adjutant general Maj. Gen. Jefferson S. Burton.

'I wish them all the comfort and courage to face the difficult days ahead.'

Utah's lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox, wrote on Facebook: 'We lost a genuine hero and one of the best people in our state. We must rally around his sweet family.'

Taylor was part of an advisory team tasked with training Afghan commandos.

'My rock star wife has been superwoman through birthing and raising seven children, and through four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and over five total years of separation for military service,' Taylor wrote on his Facebook page on September 18

Utah's lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox, wrote on Facebook: 'We lost a genuine hero and one of the best people in our state. We must rally around his sweet family'

'I am proud of the brave Afghan and US soldiers I serve with,' Taylor wrote on Facebook. The image above was posted last week. It shows Taylor with Lieutenant Kefayatullah, an Afghan serviceman who was killed by the Taliban

He was sent to Afghanistan in January as part of President Donald Trump's troop increase.

His most recent Facebook post was about the recent elections in Afghanistan.

'The strong turnout, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan and for the cause of human freedom,' he wrote last week.

'I am proud of the brave Afghan and US soldiers I serve with.

'Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible; for example, my dear friend Lieutenant Kefayatullah who was killed fighting the Taliban the day before voting began.️

'As the USA gets ready to vote in our own election next week, I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote.

The ANSF has been fighting alongside the United States and other Western countries in their effort to assert government control over Afghanistan. The image above shows members of the Afghan National Army marching in Herat province on October 3

'And that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us.

'"United we stand, divided we fall." God Bless America.'

A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help his widow and their children.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said in September that training and vetting of Afghan forces was being stepped up to minimize insider attacks and some training and advisory operations have been scaled back while security is assessed.

Last month, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Scott Miller, escaped unhurt when the bodyguard of a provincial governor opened fire on a group of U.S. and Afghan officials in the southern province of Kandahar.