US service member killed in Iraq’s Nineveh province: Coalition

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An American soldier advising Iraqi security forces was killed on Saturday in the embattled northern province of Nineveh, the US-led coalition said in a statement.

“One U.S. service member died today during an Iraqi Security Force mission in Ninewah province, Iraq, while advising and accompanying the ISF [Iraqi security forces] during a planned operation,” read the statement, issued early on Sunday.

It specified that the name of the service member would be withheld until the next of kin has been notified, as is regular practice.

The statement did not offer further details about the events surrounding the service member's death.

Much of Nineveh province was overrun by the Islamic State in 2014, most notably the provincial capital of Mosul and the Yezidi (Ezidi) city of Sinjar (Singal). 

The US has roughly 5,000 troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State. They have advised and trained Iraqi security forces as part of the mission since 2014, as well as providing assistance for Iraqi security operations through air support and indirect fire.

Iraq declared a military victory against the militant group in late 2017, but Islamic State remnants continue to carry out insurgent attacks, ambushes, kidnappings, and assassinations in several provinces across the nation. 

Editing by John J. Catherine