US special forces officer killed by ISIS in Iraq

One member of a US special operations team was killed during an operation to rescue hostages held by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq, the first American killed in ground combat with the group.

Around 70 hostages were rescued during the operation, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

US special operations forces were assisting Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces in rescuing hostages held at an Islamic State prison near Hawija, in northern Iraq, in a mission requested by the Kurdistan Regional Government, Cook said.

“Dozens” of US troops were involved in the mission, a defence official said, explaining that the US serviceman was shot and taken back to Erbil, where he died.