STUTTGART, Germany — Coalition aircraft, including at least one U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, have conducted 31 airstrikes against the Islamic State fighters who briefly overran a Peshmerga outpost in Northern Iraq, killing an estimated 58 attackers, military officials say.
The initial ISIS attack on Tuesday claimed the life of Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating, who was among a group of U.S. military special operations forces in the village of Tal Askuf, during “the normal course of their duties,” an official told the Washingon Examiner.
Col. Steve Warren, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said Keating was part of a quick reaction force called in to help American advisers who came under fire when the Islamic State breached the Peshmerga front line.
He said the complex attack was “one of the largest we’ve seen recently” and involved about 125 Islamic State fighters.
Warren emphasized that the large-scale attack doesn’t signify that the Islamic State is gaining strength, and pointed to a similar spate of attacks as the terrorist group was about the lose Ramadi.
“This enemy has suffered a string of defeats recently, and one of the things that we’ve noticed that ISIL likes to do is when they have suffered several defeats in a row, when they’re back on their heels, often they will try one of these more high-profile, high-visibility attacks in an effort to gain some attention,” he said.
The Black Hawk helicopters used to evacuate the SEAL were damaged by small-arms fire from the ground, Warren said.
In the coalition counterstrike, forces attacked using B-52s, F-15s, F-16s and drones. Beyond killing nearly 60 ISIS militants, the manned and unmanned airstrikes destroyed 20 enemy vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortar systems and one bulldozer, Warren said Wednesday.
A senior Pentagon official said there were no American casualties other than the Navy SEAL who died as a result of direct fire, but that Peshmerga forces had suffered some losses.
The official said he was not aware of the extent of the Peshmerga casualties.
In Stuttgart, Defense Secretary Ash Carter noted the loss of the Navy SEAL as he convened a meeting of 12 nations cooperating in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State.
“This fight is far from over,” Carter said at the opening session. “That point was brought into stark relief by yesterday’s attack on Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq, which unfortunately claimed the life of an American service member. I know all of our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
Keating 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.
Jacqueline Klimas contributed to this report.
