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 Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, was
killed during an overnight mission to rescue hostages held by
Islamic State militants in northern Iraq, becoming the first
American to die in combat in Iraq since 2011.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a news briefing on Friday
that U.S. troops were not planning to enter the compound, and were
there only to advise and assist Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga.
But when a firefight ensued, Wheeler ran to help Kurdish troops,
Carter said.
"He ran to the sound of the guns and he stood up," Carter said. "All
the indications are it was his actions and that of one of his
teammates that protected those that were involved in breaching the
compound and made the mission a success."
 Wheeler was awarded the Purple Heart after his death, according to
an Army statement.
Around 70 hostages were rescued in the action, which targeted an
Islamic State prison around 7 km (4 miles) north of the town of
Hawija. .
It was the most significant raid against Islamic State since May,
when American special operations forces killed one of its senior
leaders, Abu Sayyaf from Tunisia, in a raid in Syria.
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Wheeler was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command
headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He entered the Army in
1995 and joined the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in 2004.
Overall, he deployed 17 times to support combat operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan and earned 11 Bronze Star medals, according to the
Army statement.
Carter said Wheeler's body would be returned to the United States on
Saturday in a ceremony attended by his family as well as Carter and
his wife. Wheeler is survived by his wife, four sons, and his
grandparents, the Army said.
(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Dan Grebler and Lisa
Shumaker)
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