BAGHDAD (AP) – An American soldier died on Thursday from wounds sustained in a bombing in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.
It was the first U.S. service member to die from fighting in Iraq since the launch of a massive operation to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul earlier this week. More than 100 U.S. special operations forces are embedded with Iraqi units, and hundreds more are playing a support role in staging bases.
The statement did not say whether the service member was involved in the offensive. It said the soldier was wounded by an “improvised explosive device,” or roadside bomb.
The assault on Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, is bringing American forces into their most significant role in Iraq in years. There are more U.S. forces in Iraq now than any time since the 2011 U.S. withdrawal, and American forces have been increasingly active on and beyond front-line positions.
As of early this month, there were 4,565 U.S. troops in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. That doesn’t include another 1,500 troops considered there “on temporary duty,” whose number changes daily, according to the U.S. officials.