A U.S. Navy SEAL killed in combat Tuesday during an ISIS attack near Irbil, Iraq, was identified as 31-year-old Charlie Keating IV of Arizona.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday in Germany, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Keating's death occurred as a result of "combat."
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Keating, a Navy SEAL based out of Coronado, California, was killed during an ISIS attack on a Kurdish peshmerga position about one to three miles behind the forward line of troops.
"This sad news is a reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face every day in the ongoing fight to destroy ISIL and end the threat the group poses to the United States and the rest of the world," Cook said, using an alternative name for ISIS. "Our coalition will honor this sacrifice by dealing ISIL a lasting defeat."
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said the 31-year-old was a graduate of Arcadia High School in Phoenix, and ordered all state flags be lowered to half-staff Wednesday in honor of Keating.
“Our thoughts, prayers and eternal gratitude are with Mr. Keating, his family, his fellow SEALs, and all of the brave Americans who’ve answered the call to serve," Ducey said in a statement.
Keating's death was not the first for a U.S. soldier fighting ISIS in Iraq.
In October, Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, 39, died during a special forces raid near the city of Kirkuk.
And in March, Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin was killed after a base in northern Iraq came under rocket attack by ISIS fighters. Several U.S. soldiers were also injured in that attack.