A U.S. soldier has been wounded at a training site in Iraq after an unknown individual fired upon him with a small arms weapon — marking the first time a member of the U.S. military has been injured in a multinational war against the Islamic State.
The soldier sustained a superficial wound to his face on Wednesday, while he was in a guard tower trying to identify the source of a light near the training site, known as Besmaya, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said.
The person who shot at the soldier managed to scratch his nose, Col. Warren said. The soldier is one of at least 100 U.S. military personnel who have been training Iraqi security forces to fight the Islamic State on behalf of Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S.-led coalition that is conducting a wide-scale military operation that spans over Iraq and Syria.
Military officials do not know exactly what caused the laceration, but are certain that it was the result of the gunshot, Col. Warren said.
Coalition members have been training 1,300 Iraqi security forces at the Besmaya site since January, according to military data.
Those security forces should have completed that training last week, the data shows.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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