Arkansas City ? A Kansas soldier known for his shooting expertise has been killed during an attack in Afghanistan during his second tour of duty, one of two Kansans killed in weekend fighting.

The Department of Defense announced Monday that 23-year-old Sgt. Tyler Juden was killed Saturday when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire near Turan, Afghanistan.

Later Monday, the Pentagon confirmed the death of a second Kansas soldier in Afghanistan.

Spc. Daniel L. Cox, 23, of Parsons, died Saturday in Wardak Province when his unit came under attack from a roadside bomb and small arms fire. Cox was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y.

No other details were immediately available about Cox.

Parsons and Arkansas City are about 115 miles apart in southern Kansas.

Juden’s family in Arkansas City, in south-central Kansas, said the soldier was known in and out of the military for his shooting ability.

His father, Bob Juden, told the Arkansas City Traveler that his son was selected to be a sniper and was a squad leader in Afghanistan.

“Tyler was a great, dedicated young man. He was an all-American kid,” Bob Juden said Monday. “He was passionate; he was passionate with his friends, his family and the things he loved.”

Juden joined the Army in 2005. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was expecting to leave the Army in 2010 once his four-year enlistment was complete and wanted to be a teacher afterward.

Bob Juden said that while his son was athletic, including starting as a freshman on the Arkansas City High School football team as a kicker, it was shooting that was his passion and where he excelled.

“When he was 13 years old, he attended a shooting camp in Raton, New Mexico. They asked him to return the following year and be a camp counselor. He did so well he came back an instructor when he was only 14 years old,” Bob Juden said.

Juden took pride in his service in Afghanistan, his father said, feeling that his efforts against the Taliban were saving the lives of other Americans.