TACOMA, Wash. -- A Fort Lewis soldier was in southern Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Our partner, The News Tribune, reports Spc. Michael A. Dahl Jr. died in Argahndab in Kandahar province. The 23-year-old native of Moreno Valley, Calif., was serving with 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack on Oct. 17.

Dahl is the 17th soldier from the 5th Stryker brigade to die since the unit deployed to southern Afghanistan in July.

This was Spc. Dahl's second deployment. He had deployed previously to Iraq, according to a press release from Fort Lewis. He enlisted in the Army in January of 2007.

The News Tribune reports 11 of those deaths have come from Dahl's 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Division, which has spent much of its deployment fighting insurgents amid the adobe villages and orchards that straddle the Argahndab River north of Kandahar.