Islamic State kills US service member in Iraq: Pentagon

Spokesperson says fatality occurred during IS attack on a Peshmerga position north of Mosul

WASHINGTON: The Islamic State group killed a US service member in Iraq on Tuesday, the Pentagon said.

The fatality occurred during an IS attack on a Peshmerga position north of Mosul, Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook said in a statement.



The US-led anti-IS coalition had said earlier that a service member had died but did not specify a nationality. "He was killed by direct fire," a defence official told AFP.

Cook said the attack took place about three to five kilometres (two to three miles) behind the forward line of troops, adding that the service member was advising and assisting Peshmerga forces.

"As (US Defense Secretary Ashton) Carter noted today in Germany, this sad news is a reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face every day in the ongoing fight to destroy ISIL and end the threat the group poses to the United States and the rest of the world," Cook said, using an alternate acronym for the IS group.



"Our coalition will honor this sacrifice by dealing ISIL a lasting defeat."