STORRS — The University of Connecticut says a Navy SEAL who was killed in a military operation in Somalia was a 2001 graduate of the school and a member of the track and field team.

The Defense Department says Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken was killed during an operation Thursday against the extremist group al-Shabab. The 38-year-old Milliken, of Falmouth, Maine, is the first American to die in combat in the African country since 1993.

UConn track and field coach Greg Roy says Milliken, a mid-distance performer on the team, was a great athlete and "great student as well."

Roy says the school has lost "an alum who has made us proud."

Milliken enlisted in the military in 2002.

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This story has been corrected to show that UConn officials say Kyle Milliken graduated in 2001, not 2011.