Initial reports indicate that a US Service Member has died from injuries sustained in an IED blast near Mosul. The majority of the US Service Members in Iraq are Special Operations Forces and are operating in an advisory role. This is the fourth US death in Iraq since 2014. Iraqi security forces have encountered several IEDs since the Mosul offensive began.

In a statement, the headquarters of the U.S. military campaign against the extremist group said the death resulted from an improvised explosive device but provided no further details. It is the fourth U.S. combat casualty since renewed military operations began in 2014, and the first since a major offensive to reclaim the city of Mosul began earlier this week.

A U.S. defense official said the incident took place “near Mosul” but declined to provide additional information.- Washington Post

More information to follow.

Image courtesy of Reuters