CENTCOM said the blast occurred in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, but gave no other details, adding it would release more information 'as appropriate'. (Representational photo: AFP)

Damascus: A US service member died on Thursday after being wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in northern Syria, US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said in a statement.

The unnamed soldier is believed to be the first US casualty in the war in Syria. He was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) laid by retreating Isis fighters.

CENTCOM said the blast occurred in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, but gave no other details, adding it would release more information "as appropriate."

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter expressed condolences in a statement, calling the death a "painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe." </s> WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A member of the US military has been killed by an improvised explosive device purportedly planted by Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria.



The US military's central command said the serviceman was wounded by the explosion in the vicinity of Ayn Issa.



CENTCOM statement Thursday did not identify his casualty.



Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said 'The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates.'



Separately, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said he is 'deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL.'



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> BEIRUT — U.S. officials say an American service member in Syria has died from wounds suffered in a blast from an improvised explosive device.

A statement released Thursday by the public affairs office of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve says the explosion took place in the vicinity of Ayn Issa in northern Syria.

"I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL," Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement. "It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe. Please keep this servicemember's family, friends and teammates in your thoughts and prayers, and this Thanksgiving I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to all of our dedicated troops who selflessly protect us everyday."

No other information about the explosion or the victim was released.

U.S. troops are part of a multination effort to fight the Islamic State group in the region. </s> A member of the U.S. military died on Thursday near the city of Ayn Issa in northern Syria, marking the first time a U.S. service member has been killed in Syria during the current conflict, a senior defense official confirmed to ABC News today.

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U.S. Central Command announced the death in a statement, but did not identify the service member, who succumbed to wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device blast.

It is unclear what the service member's activities were in Syria. At any one time, up to 300 U.S. service members could be operating in Syria, where they are advising and assisting Syrian Kurdish and Arab rebel forces who are fighting ISIS.

"The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates," Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, said in an emailed statement, referring to ISIS by another common acronym. "On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from ISIL's hateful and brutal ideology."

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter released a statement saying that he was "deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL," and asked Americans to "please keep this servicemember's family, friends and teammates in your thoughts and prayers, and this Thanksgiving I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to all of our dedicated troops who selflessly protect us everyday."

In October 2015, President Barack Obama directed the Pentagon to insert special operations forces into Syria to advise and assist the Syrian opposition in its battle against ISIS militants.

The service member's death follows the death of another U.S. service member in Iraq last month. The naval officer was killed by a roadside bomb north of the Iraqi city of Mosul, where he was serving as an adviser to Iraqi troops.

The U.S. is part of a multi-nation coalition that is battling ISIS in Iraq and Syria. </s> A British special forces soldier has been killed by an improvised explosive device in Syria, in the first death of a serving UK troop in the fight against the Islamic State.

An American was also killed by the roadside bomb in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Thursday, which also wounded four members of the local council.

The unnamed British soldier was embedded with US special forces overseeing a clean-up operation in Manbij, which was controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) until it was taken by allied Kurdish and Arab forces in the summer of 2016.

The city, close to the border with Turkey, earned the nickname “Little London” because of the large numbers of British Isil fighters stationed in the city during the days of the “caliphate”.

A Ministry Of Defence spokesperson said: "It is with regret that we must confirm that a member of the UK Armed Forces was killed by an improvised explosive device in Syria yesterday.

"The individual was embedded with US forces on a counter-Daesh operation when the incident occurred. "The family has been notified and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. </s> The first U.S. combat death in Syria occurred Thursday when a Special Forces member died from wounds sustained by an ISIS improvised explosive device, says CNN, citing the Pentagon.

U.S. forces suffer their first casualty in northern Syria on Thursday while engaged in an offensive against ISIS.

This marks the first time a US service member has been killed inside Syria since a small number of US Special Forces were sent there last year to advise and assist Syrian forces battling ISIS, also known as ISIL.

“The entire counter-ISIL coaltion sends our condolences to this hero’s family, friends and teammates,” Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force for Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement.

It is customary for the US military to wait at least 24 hours before identifying casualties to allow for next of kin notification.

The incident occurred in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, some 30 miles north of ISIS’s self-declared capital of Raqaa. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other top defense officials have said operations to retake the city from ISIS would begin in the near term, as the battle against ISIS in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul is already underway.

An estimated 300 US Special Forces are currently operating in Syria advising the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is made up of a number of local militias, including the Kurdish YPG.

Beyond the death Thursday, four US service members have been killed in Iraq since military options to dislodge ISIS from both countries began in 2014.

“I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil” of ISIS, Carter said in a separate statement Thursday.

“It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe,” he said. </s> Three US troops killed, four Americans wounded by IED in Afghanistan

Three U.S. troops were killed and four Americans were wounded Tuesday when an improvised explosive device detonated near the city of Ghazni, south of Kabul, the U.S.-led coalition said. The wounded, which included three troops and one contractor, were evacuated and are receiving medical care.

The names of the slain troops were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, according to Pentagon policy.

The deaths bring to 13 the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghansitan this year.

This story will be updated. </s> SANAA, Yemen (AP) - The U.S. military says a service member has been killed and three others wounded in raid in Yemen targeting a local al-Qaida affiliate.

 

 U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that another service member was injured in a "hard landing" in a nearby location.

 

 It says the aircraft was unable to fly afterward and "was then intentionally destroyed in place."

 

 It says 14 fighters from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots."

 

 Yemeni security and tribal officials say the assault in central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaida leaders.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - Two U.S. service members were killed during an operation against Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan overnight on Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the incident took place in the southern Nangarhar province.

U.S. troops are battling suspected Islamic State fighting in Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan, where earlier this month the United States dropped a massive bomb known as "the mother of all bombs." (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
CENTCOM reports a U.S. service member has been killed in a IED blast near the town of Ayn Issa, Al-Raqqah Governorate, becoming the first U.S. military casualty in the conflict.