U.S. soldier killed in Islamic State prison raid in Iraq

Islamic State flag.
(Image credit: MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

A member of a U.S. military special operations team was killed when American and Kurdish commandos raided an Islamic State prison in northern Iraq to free hostages being held at the compound, U.S. officials said Thursday. Reuters reports that this marks the first time that a U.S. serviceman has been killed in a combat situation with the Islamic State, and it's the first time a solider was killed in action in Iraq since the 2011 withdrawal.

At least a dozen ISIS fighters were believed to have been killed in the raid, The Washington Post reports. The operation successfully rescued about 70 Kurdish hostages.

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