Service member dies in non-combat incident in Erbil, Iraq

Flashpoints

By Howard Altman / Military Times / May 5, 2020

PHOTO: A seventh U.S. service member has died this year supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

A service member with Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve died in a non-combat related incident in Erbil, Iraq, May 4.

The cause of death remains under investigation, but COVID-19 is not suspected, officials said in a media release.

It is CJTF-OIR policy to defer casualty identification to the relevant national authorities after the next of kin have been notified.

The service member is the seventh to die this year supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the fight against ISIS and the second to die in a non-combat incident in Erbil.

Sgt. 1st Class John David Randolph Hilty, 44, from Bowie, Maryland, died in a non-combat incident March 30, Defense Department officials said in a statement. No details of the death were released and the incident is under investigation, the statement added.

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