Some US Marines on ground in Iraq to fight Daesh

Washington — A detachment of US Marines is on the ground in Iraq to support US and coalition efforts against Daesh, the US military said on Sunday. A group of Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, will add to the US forces already in Iraq battling Daesh, it said. The 26th MEU is currently deployed in the US 5th Fleet area of operations, which covers the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense says a coalition service member killed Saturday by enemy fire in northern Iraq was a Marine from Southern California. Officials say in a press release Sunday that Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, of Temecula, died March 19 from wounds suffered when his unit was hit by rocket fire. The incident is under investigation. Cardin was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A US official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the attack occurred at the Makhmour base outside the Daesh group-held city of Mosul. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief the media. The last killing of a US service member in Iraq was in October 2015. — Agencies