On 13th Anniversary of Iraq War, Pentagon Confirms US Marine Killed by Islamic State Rocket FireBy Baran Hines Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook reported that the Marines are providing force protection fire support at a recently established coalition fire base, which is near the front lines of the operation against Islamic State. Cook added that several other Marines were wounded in the Islamic State attack. Islamic State terrorists fired two rockets from about 15 kilometers away and the Marines immediately returned fire. A firebase typically supports ground forces with artillery fire. The new base, Fire Base Bell is defending another coalition base where the United States is working with about 5,000 Iraqi forces in preparation for the operation to retake Mosul. Islamic State has maintained tight control of Mosul since their rapid growth to the north in Kurdish regions near the Turkey border and west across the Syria-Iraq border. The existence of the firebase was not public information; however, an unnamed official told CNN that the Pentagon had planned to acknowledge the location this week. The base has couple of hundred Marines living in tents and it is assumed ISIS observed the Marines moving into the area and saw them firing practice rounds with their howitzers, according to the same official. Sunday, the Pentagon identified the Marine as Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, of Temecula, California. Cardin was a member the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He is only the second combat death confirmed since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition operation to fight Islamic State. Last October, a U.S. soldier was killed during a special operations raid to free hostages of Islamic State in Hawija, also in northern Iraq. Sunday marks the 13th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. Baran Hines writes for selfnewsPost.com. He is the founder of WTFRLY.com, where you can read more of his work. This article may be reposted in part or in full with author attribution and source link. Im from North Carolina and my son is a former Marine. I offer my condolences to the family of this Marine. Nothing will take away their pain but he did not pass unnoticed. HUSSEIN should be preparing for a new golf outing about now, no? So very sad to see these brave men and women serving under such a anti-American muslim ahole! If ever there was a reason to NOT enroll in the US Military, HUSSEIN obama is it!!!!! and the perpetual war machine marches ever onward caring not who wins or looses, but rather only that death Since Islamic State is the US and its allies proxy force in the region, we are probably not going to be told who actually killed this soldier. If IS actually did this, it should be considered friendly fire. All attacks blamed on ISIS are false flag attacks. They are used as justification for more military action in the region. 