U.S. service member killed in Iraq, Pentagon says

The Pentagon says an explosive device has killed a U.S. service member outside Mosul, Iraq.

The Pentagon on Saturday did not provide any further details, stating further information would be released as appropriate.

Saturday’s incident marks the second American military fatality since the start of the Mosul operation against the Islamic State group more than six months ago.

The Pentagon has acknowledged more than 100 U.S. special operations forces are operating with Iraqi units, with hundreds more playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

There are now more American service members in Iraq than at any time since the 2011 U.S. withdrawal as Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition work to push Islamic States out of the last pockets of territory it controls in Iraq.

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