Two U.S. soldiers were killed and five others injured Sunday after an artillery fire mishap in northern Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Rob Manning announced Monday.
Manning said that “there is no indication ISIS had anything to do with it,” adding that the mishap occurred during an mission targeting the terrorist group. All of the injured soldiers were evacuated by air following the mishap. The incident remains under investigation and the identities of the soldiers involved have been withheld until the U.S. can notify their families.
U.S. Central Command clarified that the five injured soldiers did not suffer life threatening injuries. “The entire counter-ISIS Coalition sends our deepest condolences to these heroes’ families, friends and teammates,” Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement Sunday.
The U.S. soldiers’ deaths are the first in Iraq since Army 1st Lt. Weston Lee was killed in action near Mosul in April during operations to retake the city from the Islamic State.
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