American trooper killed in northern Iraq: Pentagon
The US Defense Department has announced the death of an American service member as a result of ‘enemy’ fire in northern Iraq.
The trooper was killed on Saturday during a rocket attack on a base in the region, said the Pentagon.
The so-called US-led coalition against Daesh (ISIL) earlier said a trooper had been killed due to enemy action, but had declined to specify the nationality of the dead.
The last US service member to be killed in Iraq as a result of enemy fire was army soldier Joshua Wheeler, who died last October during a rescue mission in northern Iraq, US media said.
The latest fatality came after an indirect rocket attack on a base at Makhmur, CNN said, citing a US official as saying that a "small number" of other American troops were also wounded there.
It is not exactly clear how many soldiers sustained injuries and the Pentagon has yet to give further details.
Last month, a US military official said Pentagon’s announced figure of 3,500 American forces on the ground in Iraq was an underestimation.
US Army Colonel Steve Warren, stationed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, said it was "fair to say" that there are hundreds more troops than even that figure, arguing that it was part of the natural rotation of incoming and outgoing forces.
The troops are allegedly there to train and equip local security forces.
ISIL overran parts of Iraq in June 2014 with the militants capturing the northern city of Mosul.
Iraq has on several occasions complained about the ineffectiveness of airstrikes launched by the US and its allies in June 2014 allegedly targeting Daesh terrorists in the north and west of the country.
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