Two U.S. special operations troops were killed during a combat operation in Iraq, marking the first American combat deaths in the country this year.
The two service members, who have yet to be identified, were killed Sunday during an operation to clear Islamic State group fighters from a large cave complex in the northern region of Iraq near Makhmur. The two service members were part of a Marine Corps special operations team and were conducting the operation in coordination with Iraqi security forces.
Additional forces were sent out to recover the bodies, according to a statement provided to the Washington Examiner by a spokesperson with the U.S.-led coalition to the region.
“The forces meticulously trekked through mountainous terrain and eliminated four hostile ISIS fighters who were barricaded in the caves. The recovery took approximately six hours,” the statement said. “We can confirm that four ISIS fighters were killed during the recovery operation. The U.S. forces were able to safely recover the two U.S. service members by eliminating the threat.”
The last American combat death in Iraq was in August of last year when Gunnery Sgt. Scott Koppenhafer was killed during combat operations.
