US military says service member killed in Iraq mission

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military said Saturday that an American service member died during a combat mission with Iraqi security forces in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province.

The service member was advising and accompanying the Iraqi Security Forces on a planned operation, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

Iraqi forces have recently launched new operations in the country’s north to weed out remnants of Islamic State group.

The U.S. said the identity of the service member was being withheld until notification of the next of kin.

The U.S. Department of Defense established in 2014 a joint task force for Operation Inherent Resolve to deal with Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

The National Highway Safety Administration is investigating complaints of malfunctions with the front passenger air bag sensors in more than a half-million Subaru Foresters. In a post on its website Saturday, the NHSA said the investigation centers on Subaru Foresters from the 2016-2018 model years.

The NHSA said its Office of Defects Investigation received 51 complaints about the Foresters’ occupant detection system, which is designed to detect when there’s someone riding in the front passenger seat and then turn on the air bag so it is ready to deploy in a collision.

The complaints detail instances when the systems turned off the air bag with a person in the seat.