The Defense Department has confirmed a Navy SEAL working on the front lines near Mosul as an advisor to Peshmerga troops has been killed by ISIS small arms fire. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is acknowledging the SEAL was killed in combat, a term the Obama administration has avoided using to describe two previous U.S. troop casualties in the fight against ISIS since 2014.
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Earlier today Carter announced an American serviceman had been killed, but the details were not released.
The military official said the soldier was killed by "direct fire" after Islamic State forces penetrated the peshmerga forces' forward line. The American was three to two to three miles behind that front line before the attack was launched, the official added, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
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