Anchorage Daily News -- Army Spc. Adam Herold, 23, a soldier stationed at Fort Richardson, was killed in an explosion Sunday in Iraq, reported the newspaper and television stations in Omaha, Neb., his hometown.

The Army reported Monday morning that a Fort Richardson soldier died over the weekend but, as is customary, the Department of Defense did not officially release his name. Officials on the post confirmed that Herold was stationed there.

The Army told Debbie and Lance Herold, Adam's parents, that their son had been killed Sunday night in an explosion, The Omaha World-Herald reported.

Calls to Herold's parents and uncle were not immediately returned.

The statement from Fort Richardson said that one of their soldiers died Sunday from injuries received "from a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonation near his position at a checkpoint near Karbala, Iraq." No other soldiers were injured in the incident, the release said.

Herold attended Roncalli High School in Omaha before enlisting in the Army, his uncle Bob Herold, a baseball coach at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, told the World-Herald.

In addition to his parents, survivors include his brothers, Andy Herold and Kyle Herold, both of Omaha, the paper reported.

Bob Herold told KETV-TV in Omaha his nephew was engaged and had come home over Christmas for a surprise visit to the family.

Dave Ogden, a friend of the family, told KETV-TV he'd known Adam since the young man was born.

"Just a wonderful kid, cheerful and it's just going to be impossible to fill this hole in everybody's lives," Ogden said.

Forty-four paratroopers have lost their lives since the 3,500-member 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division deployed last fall.