Islamic State fire kills US Navy SEAL in combat in Iraq
STUTTGART, Germany — The combat death Tuesday of a U.S. Navy SEAL who was advising Kurdish forces in Iraq coincides with a gradually deepening American role in fighting a resilient Islamic State, even as the Iraqis struggle to muster the military and political strength to defeat the militants.
Seven months ago, a special operations soldier, 39-year-old Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, was killed during a Kurdish-led raid on an Islamic State prison in northern Iraq.
The strategy, criticized by some as incremental and inadequate, is designed to ensure that the Iraqis do the ground combat, supported by U.S. air power, special operations advisers and others.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama had been briefed on the incident and extended condolences to the family of the service member killed in northern Iraq.
On one hand, Iraqi forces trained and advised by Americans have scored significant battlefield gains in recent months, including the recapture of Ramadi and other advances against Islamic State-held towns in Anbar province.