The U.S. Army soldier killed in the raid that freed 70 hostages from an ISIS prison in northern Iraq was a highly-decorated, veteran member of the elite Delta Force, U.S. military sources told ABC News. 
 
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 Master Sergeant Joshua L. Wheeler is the first American combat death in Iraq since American troops returned in mid-2014 to train, advise and assist the Iraqi military to fight ISIS, military officials said. 
 
 Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, "died Oct. 22, in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, from wounds received by enemy small-arms fire during an operation," the Defense Department said in a statement, which also noted that he was assigned to "Headquarters U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina." He is survived by his wife and four sons, the Army said. 
 
 Two military officials have told ABC News that Wheeler was a team leader for the elite Army special operations unit commonly known as "Delta Force," which is based at that command at Fort Bragg. 
 
 Wheeler was one of 30 American special operations forces personnel who served as advisers to a similar sized force of Kurdish Peshmerga forces that were leading the raid on a compound outside of Hawlijah, where it was believed ISIS was holding 20 Kurdish hostages, officials said. The Kurdish government believed that the hostages were facing imminent execution at the hands of their captors. That information was corroborated by U.S. intelligence that spotted as many as four mass graves at the compound, officials said. 
 
 According to biographical information for Wheeler released by Army Special Operations Command, Wheeler joined the Army at 19 and was just a month short of turning 40 when he died -- a long, 20-plus-year career in combat. In the course of that career, Wheeler earned a stunning 11 Bronze Stars, including four with the "Valor Device" for particular acts of heroism. 
 
 He served as a U.S. Army Ranger and then joined U.S. Army Special Operations Command in 2004, after which he deployed 11 times in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army said. Those deployments would have been as part of Delta Force, according to U.S. military sources. 
 
 At a Pentagon briefing today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter praised Wheeler's heroism, noting he played a pivotal role in the mission's success. 
 
 “The plan was not for the U.S. advise-and-assist and accompanying forces to enter the compound or be involved in the firefight," Carter said. But when a firefight ensued, Wheeler "ran to the sound of the guns, and he stood up, and all the indications are it was his actions and that of one of his teammates that protected those who were involved in breaching the compound and made the mission successful," Carter said. 
 
 “It wasn't part of the plan, but it was something that he did. And I'm immensely proud that he did that,” he said. 
 
 Carter also said he expects more raids in the future, noting the success in rescuing hostages and the significant intelligence on ISIS recovered as part of the mission. 
 
 “This is the stuff you get and the great value, by the way, of raids of this kind. And I expect that we'll do more of this kind of thing," Carter said. 
 
 Conducting additional raids would not mean the U.S. was now assuming a combat role in Iraq, Carter added, noting: "It represents a continuation of our advise-and-assist mission." 
 
 "When we find opportunities to do things that will effectively prosecute the campaign, we're going to do that," he said. "I suspect that we'll have further opportunities in the future, and we would want to avail ourselves of them." 
 
 The Kurdish and U.S. special operations teams were transported to the prison site aboard Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, officials said. 
 
 According to Col. Steve Warren, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, the U.S. team members were serving as advisers to the mission and following rules that called for them to stay behind the last concealed position. 
 
 They joined the fight after the Kurdish forces sustained what Warren called "withering fire." Wheeler was killed in the intense firefight that ensued, Warren said. 
 
 Afterwards, the U.S. and Kurdish forces discovered that the ISIS prison actually held more than 70 hostages, all of them Sunni Arabs, officials said. They included 22 members of the Iraqi security forces and the rest were Iraqi civilians. 
 
 "It is always a tragedy when we lose one of our own," Warren said. "In the end, we saved 70 people from execution that was planned in a few hours." 
 
 Carter is scheduled to be at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday when Wheeler's remains are returned to the U.S. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube 
 
 Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler of Roland, Oklahoma, a highly-decorated soldier and father of four, rushed into action when he heard sounds of gunfire coming from a prison in Iraq where dozens of ISIS-held hostage were being held on Thursday. 
 
 Those actions, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters on Friday, weren't part of the original rescue mission plan, but were critical to its success. 
 
 "I am immensely proud of this young man," Carter said adding that his thoughts and prayers go out to Wheeler's family. 
 
 Earlier Friday, Defense officials confirmed to NBC News Wheeler, 39, as the American Delta Force commando killed in a rescue mission in Iraq on Thursday. 
 
 Acting on a tip that dozens of ISIS-held hostages were about to be slaughtered, U.S. and Kurdish commandos stormed a prison in northeastern Iraq before dawn Thursday, rescuing the captives in a firefight that ended with Wheeler being shot to death, officials said. 
 
 Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday that Wheeler "did what proud Americans do" when he ran toward the sound of gunfire. 
 
 The operation marked the first known instance of American service members battling ISIS fighters on the ground in Iraq under President Obama's new mission to "train and advise" local forces against the terror group. 
 
 Related: 'Respectful' American Commando Killed in Iraq Was No Stranger to War 
 
 Carter said that the military expects "more raids of this kind" and that the rescue mission "represents a continuation of our advise and assist mission." 
 
 This may mean some American soldiers "will be in harm’s way, no question about it," Carter said. 
 
 Wheeler, who earned multiple Bronze Star Medals among others, is the first to die in American combat operations against ISIS. He is survived by his wife and four sons as well as his grandparents. 
 
 Related: U.S. Special Operations Forces Commando Killed in ISIS Hostage Rescue 
 
 Wheeler, who was roughly a month shy of his 40th birthday, was born in Roland, Oklahoma. He graduated in 1994 from Muldrow High School in Muldrow, Oklahoma and entered the Army a year later as an infantryman training initially at Fort Benning, Ga., according to a statement from the military. 
 
 He was first assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington 
 
 In 1997, he transitioned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington. Over the next seven years, he worked his way up the ranks from infantryman, rifle team leader, squad leader, weapons squad leader, and anti-tank section leader. 
 
 In 2004, Wheeler was assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command. 
 
 Related: ISIS Hostage Rescue: Militants Call Deadly U.S. Raid a Failure 
 
 During his military careers Wheeler was deployed at least 17 times — most of those in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army said. 
 
 Wheeler's awards and decorations for his service were numerous and include four Bronze Star Medals with Valor Device, seven Bronze Star Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor Device, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, seven Army Commendation Medals, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, eight Army Achievement Medals, the Good Conduct Medal (6th award). 
 
 He also earned the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with six Bronze Service Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (3rd Award), the Army Service Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Valorous Unit Award (2nd Award), the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, and three Overseas Service Bars. 
 
 News of Wheeler's death sparked support on social media. 
 
 This is a breaking news story. Please refresh for updates. ||||| BAGHDAD -- The first American soldier to die in combat against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in Iraq has been identified as Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, coalition officials said Friday. 
 
 Army Col. Steve Warren told The Associated Press that Wheeler, 39, was killed a day earlier when he and dozens of U.S. special operations troops and Iraqi forces participated in a daring raid in northern Iraq, freeing approximately 70 Iraqi prisoners from captivity. 
 
 The Department of Defense said Wheeler died from wounds caused by small-arms fire during the operation. A native of Roland, Oklahoma, Wheeler is the first American to die in combat since the U.S. launched Operation Inherent Resolve, its campaign against ISIS, last year. His identity was initially withheld pending notification of relatives. 
 
 In a statement, the Army said that Wheeler was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He graduated in 1994 from Muldrow High School in Muldrow, Oklahoma. 
 
 "This is someone who saw the team that he was advising and assisting coming under attack, and he rushed to help them and made it possible for them to be effective, and in doing that lost his own life," Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Pentagon news conference Friday afternoon. 
 
 Carter portrayed Wheeler as a hero and said he would be present when Wheeler's body is returned to the U.S. on Saturday. 
 
 "As the compound was being stormed, the plan was not for the U.S. ... forces to enter the compound or be involved in the firefight," Carter said. "However, when a firefight ensued, this American did what I'm very proud that Americans do in that situation, and he ran to the sound of the guns and he stood up. All the indications are that it was his actions and that of one of his teammates that protected those who were involved in breaching the compound and made the mission a success." 
 
 "That is an inherent risk that we ask people to assume," Carter added. "Again, it wasn't part of the plan, but it was something that he did, and I'm immensely proud that he did that." 
 
 The raid targeted a prison near the town of Hawija and was undertaken at the request of the Kurdish Regional Government, the semi-autonomous body that governs the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. 
 
 CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan reported that the American forces were there to advise and assist, not to be an assault force -- but that role changed when the U.S. troops saw the Kurdish peshmerga get pinned down in a heavy exchange of fire with ISIS fighters. 
 
 "That call was made on the ground," said a U.S. defense official. 
 
 Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Thursday that U.S. special operations forces had been asked to support an operation to rescue fighters with the Iraqi peshmerga, the Kurdish region's organized militia. The Kurdish government later said that none of the hostages were Kurdish. 
 
 The raiders killed and captured a number of militants and recovered what the Pentagon called a trove of valuable intelligence about the terrorist organization. 
 
 U.S. combat troops have rarely, if ever, participated directly in combat against ISIS fighters on the ground since the U.S. mission began in 2014. The U.S. has mostly limited its role to training and advising Iraqi and Kurdish forces, airdropping humanitarian relief supplies and providing daily airstrikes in IS-held areas of Iraq and Syria. ||||| Print Subscribers 
 
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– The first American to die in combat operations against ISIS has been identified as Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler of Roland, Okla. Officials say the 39-year-old Delta Force commando was shot to death in a firefight during a raid that freed at least 70 ISIS captives, including 20 members of the Iraqi Security Forces, in northeastern Iraq on Thursday, reports NBC News and the Sequoyah County Times. A husband and father of four boys, Wheeler joined the Army in 1995 after graduating high school, and moved up the ranks from infantryman to rifle team leader, squad leader, weapons squad leader, and anti-tank section leader. He was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq three times before joining the US Army Special Operations Command in 2004. He was then deployed 11 times in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Times reports that relatives of Wheeler, who was based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, have traveled to that state, where Wheeler will be buried. In speaking about the Thursday raid, a defense official tells CBS News that a "call was made on the ground" for US forces to intervene when the Kurdish region's organized militia, known as the peshmerga, fell under ISIS fire. A Pentagon press secretary calls the mission a peshmerga rescue operation and says it was "consistent with our counter-(ISIS) effort to train, advise, and assist Iraqi forces." He adds that Defense Secretary Ash Carter approved the mission because "lives were at risk," per ABC News. "It is always a tragedy when we lose one of our own," a military rep says. "In the end, we saved 70 people from execution that was planned in a few hours." The Army Times reports four peshmerga soldiers were also wounded.