Latest news with #OperationInherentResolve
Shafaq News
4 days ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
US-Iraq collaboration deepens despite "anti-American" sentiment
Shafaq News – Baghdad/Washington Despite escalating armed groups' attacks and deep-rooted public opposition, Iraq and the United States are pushing ahead with renewed security and energy collaboration. According to a report by the Atlantic Council, even without the current conflict between Israel and Iran, the prospects for future US-Iraq relations have often appeared dim. Due in part to the reduced threat from ISIS, and also to public opposition to US military presence under Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), Washington and Baghdad agreed to reduce the role of US forces in combating ISIS and transition to a new security relationship. The report said that hostilities intensified in Iraq following US backing of Israeli operations in Gaza after October 7, 2023, prompting a wave of anti-American demonstrations and attacks on US-affiliated businesses. These developments, coupled with scaled-back military coordination, narrowed the space for broader cooperation. Nonetheless, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's April 2024 visit to the US signaled an effort to deepen strategic ties. In Houston, he signed agreements granting American energy companies preferential treatment over Chinese firms, and concluded deals with US defense contractors for equipment and training.
UPI
20-06-2025
- UPI
Pentagon identifies soldier who died in Iraq as Michigan resident
June 19 (UPI) -- The Pentagon has identified the soldier who died earlier this week in a non-combat-related incident while serving in Iraq as a Michigan resident. In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Defense identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Saul Fabian Gonzalez, 26, of Pullman, Mich. Gonzalez died Tuesday in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, where he was serving in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. military's mission to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group in areas of Iraq and Syria. Specifics of the non-combat-related incident were not released, but the Pentagon said it was under investigation. Gonzalez was assigned to D Troop, 2nd Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. "It is with heavy hearts, we share the news of the loss of SSG Saul F. Gonzalez. While his passing was not combat-related, it is felt by all who knew him," the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade said in a statement on Facebook. "We honor his service and reflect upon the positive impact he had as an outstanding Non-Commissioned Officer, Technical Inspector and friend. Please keep his family and fellow Troopers in your thoughts and prayers." About 2,500 U.S. soldiers are in Iraq as part of the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.
CBS News
19-06-2025
- CBS News
Michigan soldier dies from "non-combat-related incident" while serving in Iraq
A Michigan man serving in Iraq has died as a result of a "non-combat related incident," the U.S. Department of Defense reported Wednesday. Staff Sgt. Saul Fabian Gonzalez, 26, of Pullman, Michigan, died Tuesday while serving in Erbil, Iraq, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Gonzalez was assigned to D Troop, 2nd Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. "It is with heavy hearts, we share the news of the loss of SSG Saul F. Gonzalez," his unit posted on social media Wednesday. "While his passing was not combat-related, it is felt by all who knew him. We honor his service and reflect upon the positive impact he had as an outstanding Non-Commissioned Officer, Technical Inspector, and friend. Please keep his family and fellow Troopers in your thoughts and prayers." The death is under investigation, according to the Department of Defense press release.
Fox News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Army soldiers from Minnesota, Michigan perish in separate Middle East incidents
Two U.S. Army soldiers deployed in the Middle East in support of the campaign against ISIS died this week in separate incidents that were not combat-related. The Department of Defense (DoD) on Wednesday confirmed the deaths of two soldiers supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. Sgt. 1st Class Emmett Wilfred Goodridge Jr., 40, of Roseville, Minnesota, died Sunday in Camp Buehring, Kuwait, as a result of an incident that was not combat-related, according to the DoD. Goodridge was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York. The incident is under investigation, officials said. Three days later, Staff Sgt. Saul Fabian Gonzalez, 26, of Pullman, Michigan, died in Erbil, Iraq, in a separate incident that was not combat-related, according to the DoD. Gonzalez was assigned to D Troop, 2nd Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The second incident also remains under investigation, officials said. No further details about the incidents were immediately released. The deaths come days after President Donald Trump honored the U.S. Army for its 250th anniversary on Saturday. The DoD did not immediately respond to further inquiries from Fox News Digital. The Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for service photos.
The Hill
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
2 soldiers killed in separate non-combat incidents in Iraq, Kuwait
The Pentagon on Wednesday announced the deaths of two soldiers killed in separate, 'non-combat' incidents earlier this week in Iraq and Kuwait. Staff Sgt. Saul Fabian Gonzalez, 26, of Pullman, Mich., died Tuesday in Erbil, Iraq, and Sgt. 1st Class Emmett Wilfred Goodridge Jr., 40, of Roseville, Minn., died Sunday in Camp Buehring, Kuwait, according to a Defense Department statement. No further details were given as to the cause of the deaths, which are both under investigation. Gonzalez had been assigned to D Troop, 2nd Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky., while Goodridge was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. Both men had been supporting Operation Inherent Resolve at the time of their deaths. The operation is tasked with keeping the Islamic State at bay in the Middle East after the caliphate was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Deaths of U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East are increasingly rare following the end of the Afghanistan war in 2021 and a 2024 agreement between the United States and Iraq to withdraw U.S.-led coalition forces from the country by the end of 2026. But the area remains volatile, thanks to the Iranian-backed militia groups that can attack American forces in the region, with three Army soldiers killed in a drone attack on a small U.S. outpost in Jordan in January 2024. And since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, at least five U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria have come under fire from Tehran-supported militants, according to Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal.
