Master Sargeant Joshua Wheeler has been identified as the US soldier who was killed during a raid in Northern Iraq. The Delta Force operative was killed in the line of duty while taking part in Operation Inherent Resolve, which freed 70 Arab hostages being held by ISIS. It’s being reported that up to 20 of those hostages were Kurdish fighters who were facing a mass execution at the hands of ISIS.
Operation Inherent Resolve was a joint operation between Kurdish forces and the US military.
Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler is the first reported American casualty in Iraq since the US started its campaign against ISIS.
“We commend and congratulate the brave individuals who participated in this successful operation that saved many lives, and we deeply mourn the loss of one of our own who died while supporting his Iraqi comrades engaged in a tough fight,” Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the commander of the U.S. Central Command, said in a statement on Thursday.
