Seventeen service members died in Afghanistan in 2019, the highest number since 2015, according to a year-end tally compiled by the Department of Defense and reported by Army Times.

Fourteen of the fallen service members were from the Army, while three were Marines.

The soldiers killed included eight Green Berets, an Army Ranger and three paratroopers.

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Last year’s list of fatalities caused by hostile action surpassed the death tolls of 2018, when 13 service members died, and 2017, when 11 died.

In 2016 and 2015, the number of military fatalities resulting from hostile action was nine and 10, respectively.

Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban came to a halt in September when President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE canceled a planned meeting with Taliban and Afghan leaders.

The president had considered decreasing U.S. troop levels in the country to 8,600.

NBC News reported in August that Trump told advisers that he wanted to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by November 2020. He has also threatened to close the U.S. embassy in Kabul, complaining that it is too large and expensive.

Troop levels in Afghanistan have been a source of tension between Trump and Senate Republicans for months, with GOP lawmakers repeatedly warning Trump not to pull soldiers out of the region while the Taliban remains a threat.

The Senate a year ago passed a resolution authored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE (R-Ky.) that warned “the precipitous withdrawal” of U.S. forces from Syria or Afghanistan “could put at risk hard-won gains and United States national security.”