26-year-old Marine. Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate killed in combat in Afghanistan

SAN DIEGO - A rifleman from Hawaii with Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was killed Dec. 2 in combat in Afghanistan, it was reported today.

Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate, 26, of Honolulu, who was killed in Helmand province, became the 17th member of the 3/5 battalion to die since Oct. 8, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Abbate, who also served in Iraq, enlisted in the Marine Corps on Feb. 1, 2006.

The 3/5 batallion is fighting for control of the Sangin area, a strategic crossroads for insurgents and drug smugglers in the northern end of the province, on the way to the Kajaki h...