US serviceman killed rescuing hostages from Daesh in Iraq

Washington - Pentagon spokesman says the mission was launched after receiving information that the hostages faced 'imminent mass execution'.

The US military freed a number of Kurdish captives in a rescue mission in northern Iraq on Thursday, and one American was killed in the operation, two US defence officials said.
Pentagon spokesman said the mission was launched upon the request of Kurdistan regional government, adding that five Daesh militants were detained and many others were killed. The mission was launched after receiving information that the hostages faced 'imminent mass execution', the spokesman said.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US-led rescue effort was carried out overnight in the vicinity of Hawija, a Daesh stronghold west of Kirkuk.
The circumstances in which one US military member was killed were unclear, but one US official said the soldier was killed in a firefight at the scene.
The relative of one of the Kurdish hostages said he's been informed of their rescue in a US-led raid.
Irfan Sadradeen, the uncle of Kurdish peshmerga fighter Meriwan Mawlud, said he was contacted by a peshmerga official who informed him about the raid on the Daesh group near Hawija. Irfan said he was told that paratroopers landed at a poultry farm, close to the home of the main sharia judge of Hawija, where they launched their rescue.
"We are waiting for more information. A peshmerga official called us today confirming the news of the raid," he said, adding that he was told 15 Daesh militants were killed in the raid. "None of them arrived to this area yet but we are waiting for them," he said.
Coalition officials in Iraq declined to comment when contacted.

• MENA