Soldier, a Dorchester father of two, killed on duty in Iraq

A father of two from Dorchester was killed during the weekend while serving in Iraq, an Army spokeswoman said yesterday.

Army Specialist Edgardo Zayas, 29, was killed in Baghdad on Saturday after an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol, officials said.

Zayas's parents, who are from Dorchester, could not be reached last night. A woman who answered the door at a relative's house in Quincy said family members were too distraught to speak. ``We're very sad," she said.

Zayas, a decorated infantryman, joined the Army in April of 2004, said Kelly Tyler, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell in Kentucky, where Zayas was based.

The soldier was one of two New England men killed in Iraq over the weekend. Marine Corporal Jordan C. Pierson, 21, of Milford, Conn., was killed Friday when he was struck in the shoulder by small-arms fire while on patrol.

His family said Pierson was looking forward to returning home to continue college and to go skydiving

Pierson, who was killed in Al Anbar province, received a Purple Heart after he and another serviceman were hit with shrapnel.

Zayas received a Purple Heart during his service, but Tyler said she did not know the circumstances surrounding the honor.

Material from the Associated Press was used. Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.