A member of the U.S. military died on Thursday near the city of Ayn Issa in northern Syria, marking the first time a U.S. service member has been killed in Syria during the current conflict, a senior defense official confirmed to ABC News today.

Interested in Syria? Add Syria as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Syria news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest

U.S. Central Command announced the death in a statement, but did not identify the service member, who succumbed to wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device blast.

It is unclear what the service member's activities were in Syria. At any one time, up to 300 U.S. service members could be operating in Syria, where they are advising and assisting Syrian Kurdish and Arab rebel forces who are fighting ISIS.

"The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates," Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, said in an emailed statement, referring to ISIS by another common acronym. "On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from ISIL's hateful and brutal ideology."

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter released a statement saying that he was "deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL," and asked Americans to "please keep this servicemember's family, friends and teammates in your thoughts and prayers, and this Thanksgiving I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to all of our dedicated troops who selflessly protect us everyday."

In October 2015, President Barack Obama directed the Pentagon to insert special operations forces into Syria to advise and assist the Syrian opposition in its battle against ISIS militants.

The service member's death follows the death of another U.S. service member in Iraq last month. The naval officer was killed by a roadside bomb north of the Iraqi city of Mosul, where he was serving as an adviser to Iraqi troops.

The U.S. is part of a multi-nation coalition that is battling ISIS in Iraq and Syria.</s>CENTCOM said the blast occurred in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, but gave no other details, adding it would release more information 'as appropriate'. (Representational photo: AFP)

Damascus: A US service member died on Thursday after being wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in northern Syria, US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said in a statement.

The unnamed soldier is believed to be the first US casualty in the war in Syria. He was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) laid by retreating Isis fighters.

CENTCOM said the blast occurred in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, but gave no other details, adding it would release more information "as appropriate."

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter expressed condolences in a statement, calling the death a "painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe."</s>The first U.S. combat death in Syria occurred Thursday when a Special Forces member died from wounds sustained by an ISIS improvised explosive device, says CNN, citing the Pentagon.

U.S. forces suffer their first casualty in northern Syria on Thursday while engaged in an offensive against ISIS.

This marks the first time a US service member has been killed inside Syria since a small number of US Special Forces were sent there last year to advise and assist Syrian forces battling ISIS, also known as ISIL.

“The entire counter-ISIL coaltion sends our condolences to this hero’s family, friends and teammates,” Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force for Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement.

It is customary for the US military to wait at least 24 hours before identifying casualties to allow for next of kin notification.

The incident occurred in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, some 30 miles north of ISIS’s self-declared capital of Raqaa. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other top defense officials have said operations to retake the city from ISIS would begin in the near term, as the battle against ISIS in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul is already underway.

An estimated 300 US Special Forces are currently operating in Syria advising the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is made up of a number of local militias, including the Kurdish YPG.

Beyond the death Thursday, four US service members have been killed in Iraq since military options to dislodge ISIS from both countries began in 2014.

“I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil” of ISIS, Carter said in a separate statement Thursday.

“It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe,” he said.</s>WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A member of the US military has been killed by an improvised explosive device purportedly planted by Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria.



The US military's central command said the serviceman was wounded by the explosion in the vicinity of Ayn Issa.



CENTCOM statement Thursday did not identify his casualty.



Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said 'The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates.'



Separately, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said he is 'deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL.'



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>The victim's identity was not immediately released. The coalition's policy is to defer to the relevant national authorities (AFP Photo/Delil Souleiman)

Washington (AFP) - A member of the US military died from his wounds after a blast caused by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria, the US military's central command said.

The man was wounded by the explosion in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, was quoted as saying in a CENTCOM statement.

"The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates," Townsend, using another acronym for the Islamic State.

The victim's identity was not immediately released. The coalition's policy is to defer to the relevant national authorities, the statement said.

The death came as Americans celebrate their national holiday of Thanksgiving.

"On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from ISIL's hateful and brutal ideology," Townsend said.

For more than two years the United States has led a 66-nation coalition using air strikes against the jihadists' positions in Syria and Iraq.

Washington also has deployed special forces in Syria to advise the Arab-Kurdish alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and improve the coalition's targeting of air strikes.

As many as 300 US special forces personnel may be in Syria.</s>The first member of the US military has been killed in Syria by an improvised explosive device (IED) laid by retreating Isis fighters.

US Central Command said the blast occurred near the former militant stronghold of Ayn Issa, but gave no other details, adding it would release more information "as appropriate".

The unnamed man died of his wounds on Thursday. Ash Carter, the outgoing US Defence Secretary, called the death a “painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe".

Isis militants have been laying mines and booby traps throughout their former strongholds as the group is pushed back from swathes of territory it seized during a lightning advance through Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces uncovered bombs concealed within teddy bears and toy cars in one of the terrorists' former strongholds in Iraq and the explosives continue to pose a huge risk for civilians and soldiers alike.

There are believed to be around 300 US military personnel working in Syria, assisting and advising Syrian Kurdish and Arab rebel forces fighting Isis, ABC News reports.

Lieutenant General Stephen J Townsend, the commander of US-led coalition, offered his condolences to the killed soldier.

He said: "The entire counter-Isil (Isis) Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammate.

"On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from Isil's hateful and brutal ideology."

Last month, a US Naval officer was killed in Iraq near the city of Mosul in a roadside bomb while working as an adviser to Iraqi troops.

In October last year, President Obama ordered special forces to be deployed to Syria to aid and advise domestic opposition to Isis.

Americans have also volunteered to fight for rebel groups on the ground, including William Savage, Levi Jonathan Shirley and Jordan McTaggart, who died in battles with the People's Protection Units (YPG) near Manbij in July.

A British man, Dean Carl Evans, was also killed fighting for the YPG to retake the strategic city from Isis.</s>BEIRUT — U.S. officials say an American service member in Syria has died from wounds suffered in a blast from an improvised explosive device.

A statement released Thursday by the public affairs office of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve says the explosion took place in the vicinity of Ayn Issa in northern Syria.

"I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL," Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement. "It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe. Please keep this servicemember's family, friends and teammates in your thoughts and prayers, and this Thanksgiving I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to all of our dedicated troops who selflessly protect us everyday."

No other information about the explosion or the victim was released.

U.S. troops are part of a multination effort to fight the Islamic State group in the region.
CENTCOM reports a U.S. service member has been killed in a IED blast near the town of Ayn Issa, Al-Raqqah Governorate, becoming the first U.S. military casualty in the conflict.