Montana Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An Army soldier from Lame Deer was injured after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Rae Peppers tells The Billings Gazette that Army officials initially told her that her son, Pfc. Joshua Peppers, lost his leg in Wednesday's explosion. She later learned he had his foot amputated.

Peppers remained hospitalized in Afghanistan Thursday, but his mother said he would be flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland as soon as he's healthy enough to travel.

The 27-year-old Peppers was deployed to Afghanistan in February, two years after he joined the Army.

Rae Peppers says she is caring for her son's 6-year-old daughter.

His wife died in a car crash exactly five years to the day before he was injured in the explosion.