An American soldier and a British soldier died during a training exercise in Iraq, according to officials from the U.S. Army Central and the British Ministry of Defense. The incident occurred on Sunday at an air base in Erbil, located in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The U.S. and U.K. have increased their military presence in the region to combat ISIS, while also facing attacks from Iran-aligned Shiite fighters.
The statement from U.S. Army Central indicated that the training was conducted with British Army partners, who also lost a soldier. The identities of the deceased soldiers will be withheld for 24 hours to notify their families. The British Ministry of Defense issued a similar statement.
In recent months, U.S. and British troops have experienced heightened stress due to retaliatory attacks from Iran and its proxy fighters, particularly in Iraq. On the same day as the soldiers' deaths, Iranian forces reportedly attacked U.S.-backed Kurdish paramilitary forces in northern Iraq. The U.S. and U.K. have been gradually reducing their military presence in Iraq following the decline of ISIS and fully withdrew their forces from Syria in April after more than a decade.