Marine with ties to Rochester killed in Afghanistan

Posted at: 07/31/2012 3:03 AM | Updated at: 07/31/2012 6:30 AM

A U.S. Marine with ties to the Rochester area has been killed in Afghanistan.

News10NBC is told 23-year-old Corporal Joshua R. Ashley died from an underwater explosive blast on July 19, according to his aunt, Mary Mamarella of Gates. She says Ashley was a K-9 handler who worked with bomb-sniffing dogs. Ashley's dog, Sirius, was reportedly unable to detect an explosive that was underwater. The explosive detonated, and Ashley died as a result of the blast. Sirius survived the blast.

Mamarella says they're working to bring the dog to the United States and give it to Ashley's mother.

Ashley had only been in Afghanistan since May. He leaves behind his mother, who grew up in Greece and moved to California, as well as his father and two brothers.

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