Another Iowa soldier has been killed in Iraq, a Waterloo native who was trying to clear landmines. Staff Sergeant Eric Steffeny of Waterloo was trying to diffuse a roadside bomb on Wednesday north of Baghdad when it exploded. A nearby landmine was intentionally detonated, accidentally setting off the landmine Steffeny was in the process of checking. He was serving in the Army’s bomb squad unit which finds, disarms and detonates unexploded munitions. He enlisted in the Army after graduation from Waterloo West High in 1996. The 28-year-old was on his second tour in Iraq and was due to return stateside in April. Steffeny is the 22nd Iowan killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. He leaves a wife and three children in North Carolina.
