The U.S. service member killed on Iraq on Tuesday was a Navy SEAL, according to a senior defense official.
The special warfare operator was killed by direct fire near Irbil in northern Iraq after Islamic State fighters broke through the Peshmerga front line.
Navy Times first reported the service affiliation of the fallen service member. The SEAL was advising and assisting Peshmerga forces about three-five kilometers behind the front line, according to a statement from Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook.
The SEAL is the third American death in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq. 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.
