An explosives expert based in Coronado was killed in northern Iraq, the Navy reported Friday.
Jason C. Finan, a chief petty officer from Anaheim, suffered fatal wounds from the blast of an improvised explosive device on Thursday, according to a Navy statement.
Finan, 34, was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 in Coronado.
"The entire Navy Expeditionary Combat Command family offers our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family and loved ones of the sailor we lost," said Rear Adm. Brian Brakke, commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command/NECC Pacific.
USA Today reported that a military source said Finan was among a contingent of U.S. forces assisting the Iraqi army's offensive into the Islamic State-held city of Mosul. Around 100 U.S. personnel are involved in the Mosul operation.
Finan's death is the fourth since U.S. forces began helping the Iraqi Army fight ISIS. The toll includes Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin of Temecula, who died in March; Coronado-based Navy SEAL Charlie Keating IV, a petty officer first class killed in May; and Army Delta Force Master Sgt. Josh Wheeler, who died last year in a raid that freed around 70 hostages.
