First U.S. Service Member Killed In Syria Fighting The Islamic State

Washington Post: First U.S. service member killed in Syria

A U.S. service member was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon announced in a statement.

The service member was killed near Ayn Issa, a town roughly 35 miles northwest of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa. The death marks the first time a U.S. service member has been killed in the country since a contingent of Special Operations forces were deployed there in October 2015 to go after the extremist group.

“The entire counter-[Islamic State] coalition sends its condolences to this hero’s, family, friends and teammates,” said Lt. Gen Stephen Townsend, the commander of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “On this Thanksgiving please be thankful there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from [the Islamic State’s] hateful and brutal ideology.”

The Pentagon usually waits 24 hours before releasing the name of a casualty to ensure proper notification to the service member’s family.

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More News On A U.S. Service Member Killed In Syria Fighting The Islamic State

First US Service Member Killed in Syria, Succumbs to IED Blast -- ABC News
US service member killed by explosive device in Syria -- FOX News
IED Blast Kills an American Service Member in Syria -- NBC News
U.S. Service Member Killed in Syria -- WSJ
U.S. service member killed in Syria on Thanksgiving -- Military Times
U.S. soldier fighting ISIS is killed in northern Syria after stepping on an explosive near Raqqa -- Daily Mail
Carter Offers Condolences for Fallen U.S. Service Member in Syria -- US Department of Defense