The Big Island soldier killed Monday in Afghanistan was a former computer science student at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo and a native of Palau.

The Army recruiting office in Hilo confirmed that Sgt. Jasper Obakrairur, 26, joined the Army in Hilo in March 2004.

Obakrairur, 26, died after a homemade bomb exploded near his vehicle in Nerkh, according to the Department of Defense. Nerkh is about 25 miles southwest of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Obakrairur was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) of Fort Drum, N.Y.

UH-Hilo spokeswoman Alyson Kakugawa-Leong said Obakrairur attended classes there from August 2000 to May 2001 but did not graduate.

An Army spokesman said that Obakrairur's remains have been shipped to family members in Palau.