WASHINGTON — An American Special Forces soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Monday, according to military officials, bringing to 20 the number of troops who have died during combat operations this year.

The soldier’s death is a grim reminder that more Americans have died fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups in 2019 than in any other year since 2014, when the Pentagon euphemistically announced the “end of combat operations” in the country. Thirteen troops were killed in 2018, and 11 in 2017.

On Monday night, the Defense Department identified the soldier as Sgt. First Class Michael J. Goble, 33, of Washington Township, N.J., hours after his military identification was broadcast on social media by Taliban accounts. He was assigned to the First Battalion, Seventh Special Forces Group, and was killed by a roadside bomb, according to a military official.

His remains will most likely arrive at Dover Air Force Base on Christmas morning, the official said.