STUTTGART, Germany — Islamic State fighters killed a U.S. service member near Irbil, Iraq, on Tuesday after enemy forces pushed past Peshmerga fighting positions on Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in making the announcement here, said “it shows you it’s a serious fight that we have to wage in Iraq.”
The service member was “advising and assisting Peshmerga forces” when he was killed by enemy fire, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
“The casualty occurred during an ISIL attack on a Peshmerga position approximately three to five kilometers behind the forward line of troops.”
A U.S. military official said the U.S. conducted 23 airstrikes to defend the Peshmerga forces who were under assault from Islamic State fighters. Both F-15s and drones carried out the strikes, the official said.
The Islamic State attack took place about 9:30 a.m. The number of Peshmerga casualties is not known.
This is the third U.S. combat death in Iraq since the Islamic State fight began in 2014.
Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin was killed in a rocket attack in March, and Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler was killed in October during a raid.
In announcing the death, Carter, who was in Germany for a change-of-command ceremony and to consult with other coalition members on the next steps in the ISIS fight, said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with that service member’s family.”
