KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- A U.S. Air Force airman from Ottumwa was killed in action Thursday in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense said Staff Sgt. Joseph Hamski, 28, of Ottumwa died Thursday of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

The incident happened in the Shorabak District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Reece Funeral Home in Ottumwa will be handling Hamski's funeral arrangements.

A spokesman told KTVO Friday evening that the funeral will be in Ottumwa, and Hamski will be buried in Ottumwa.

A timeline is unknown at this time.

The airman's mother, Mary Ellen Winston of Ottumwa, and other family members left Friday afternoon headed to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

It's not yet known when Hamski's body will be returned to the United States.

Hamski was a 2001 graduate of Ottumwa High School.  He briefly attended Iowa State University before joining the United States Airforce.

He and another airman, Tech. Sgt. Kristoffer Solesbee, 32, of Citrus Heights, Calif, who was also killed Thursday, were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Hamski was assigned to the 52^nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

This was a deadly week for the U.S. Military in Afghanistan.  The Department of Defense announced the names of six more soldiers who were killed on Thursday in a seperate attack in Kandahar Province.