U.S. News

U.S. Soldier Killed in Training Exercise in Iraq

DOUBLE BLOW

A British service member died during the same exercise.

US troops stand to attention in front of American and Iraqi (R) flags during a handover ceremony near the northern Iraqi town of Hawija where the US military formally transferred Contingency Operating Location McHenry to Iraqi security forces on May 15, 2011. COL McHenry, just outside of Hawija and north of Baghdad in the disputed ethnically-mixed province of Kirkuk, was one of a handful of bases the US military maintained in Kirkuk and is considered the oldest American base in Iraq, having been established shortly after the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.  AFP PHOTO / ALI AL-SAADI (Photo by ALI AL-SAADI / AFP) (Photo by ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images)
ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images

A U.S. soldier has died during a military training exercise in Iraq, the Army has announced. The soldier was killed during training at Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq. A British service member also died in the same incident. U.S. Army Central and Third Army disclosed the death on X, but offered few details. “The training was conducted with our British Army partners who also lost a soldier,” the Army said. “The incident is under investigation.” The Army said it is withholding the American soldier’s identity until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified. British officials separately announced “with deep regret” that a British Army soldier died in what they described as a training accident in northern Iraq. “Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends at this time,” the statement said. U.S. forces continue to maintain a presence in Iraq’s Kurdish region as part of broader security cooperation efforts. The deaths come less than a month after two U.S. soldiers died during an off-duty recreational hike in Morocco following the multinational African Lion exercise. Before this, the latest confirmed U.S. military fatality was Staff Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, who died from wounds sustained during an Iranian attack on a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia.

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