A sailor killed on Thanksgiving Day in northern Syria became the first U.S. military death in the country since operations against the Islamic State began.
The Navy identified the fallen service member as Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton, 42, of Woodbridge, Virginia, on Friday, after Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the news of his death on Thanksgiving.
According to a statement from the Pentagon, Dayton was killed by a blast of an improvised explosive device, or IED, in northern Syria on Nov. 24. Dayton was assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two, based in Virginia Beach.
"I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL," Carter said in a statement on Thursday before the service member had been publicly identified, using one acronym for the Islamic State terrorist group.
"It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe. Please keep this service member's family, friends, and teammates in your thoughts and prayers, and this Thanksgiving I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to all of our dedicated troops who selflessly protect us everyday," Carter added.
Dayton was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led counterterrorism mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria that President Obama announced in September 2014. A small number of U.S. special forces were sent to both Syria and Iraq last year in order to support local forces fighting ISIS.
A handful of American service members have been killed in Iraq during operations against ISIS, but the casualty in Syria last week represented the first death in the country since American forces were sent there.
The Obama administration has maintained that there are no American boots on the ground fighting ISIS, and that U.S. service members are advising and assisting local forces retaking territory from the terror group.
Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by U.S. air strikes and personnel have been fighting to liberate Mosul, the group's stronghold in Iraq, from ISIS control for several weeks. Forces in Syria have more recently begun an offensive to retake Raqqa, ISIS' de facto capital in Syria.