An American serviceman was killed by fire from ISIS in Iraq outside of Mosul during an attack on Kurdish peshmerga forces, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The individual was reportedly a Navy SEAL.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter first announced the death Tuesday morning, calling it a "combat death." He made the admission while speaking to journalists in Stuttgart, Germany, the Associated Press reported early Tuesday, providing few details. The U.S. Central Command confirmed the death in a statement and attributed it to "enemy fire."
Reuters, citing a U.S. defense official, reported later Tuesday that the American was a Navy SEAL.
BREAKING: U.S. serviceman killed by Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq today was Navy Seal - U.S. defense official
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 3, 2016
"A Coalition service member was killed in northern Iraq as a result of enemy fire," Centcom said in a statement. "Further information will be released as appropriate."
Centcom added that the U.S. military’s policy is to "to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities."
According to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook, the servicemember was killed north of the city of Mosul. Mosul is currently controlled by ISIS, and Iraqi Army forces have begun an operation to retake the city with support from the U.S.-led coalition and Kurdish fighters.
Cook said in a statement that the American was killed by an ISIS attack when advising Kurdish peshmerga troops.
"The casualty occurred during an ISIL attack on a Peshmerga position approximately three to five kilometers behind the forward line of troops," Cook stated, according to Politico.
Reports have indicated that the death occurred on Tuesday morning.
This represents the third American service member who has been killed in Iraq since the United States began leading the operation against ISIS in the Middle East in September 2014.
Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, a special operations soldier, was killed during a raid of an ISIS-controlled prison near the city of Kirkuk in October of last year. Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, a Marine, was killed by an ISIS rocket attack while stationed at a newly-established fire base near Makhmour in March.
The death of the Marine earlier this year occurred before the Pentagon had publicly acknowledged the existence of the fire base, called Fire Base Bell, which was established to provide artillery support to Iraqi troops.
This post will be updated as further information becomes available.