American killed in combat in Iraq was Navy SEAL

May 3, 2016 at 4:16 p.m. | Updated May 3, 2016 at 4:19 p.m.

by Sinan Salaheddin and Robert Burns, Associated Press

Iraqi Security forces and allied Popular Mobilization forces take combat positions during a military operation to regain control of Islamic State group held town of Besher outside the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq.
Iraqi Security forces and allied Popular Mobilization forces take combat positions during a military operation to regain control of Islamic State group held town of Besher outside the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq.

BAGHDAD-An American serviceman killed in Iraq by fire from the Islamic State group has been identified as a Navy SEAL.

A U.S. official says the SEAL was killed during an attack on Iraqi Kurdish positions outside the IS-held city of Mosul on Tuesday morning.

It was the third death of a U.S. service member in Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition launched its campaign against IS militants in the summer of 2014. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called it a "combat death."

The official identifying the serviceman as a SEAL was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the incident publicly.

Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

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