A British soldier has died in Iraq following an “incident” that is being investigated, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
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oldier had been serving with the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the MoD said in a statement.
They added that the death followed “an incident” that is “currently under investigation, but we can confirm that it was not as a result of enemy activity”.
Sky News Defence Correspondent Alistair Bunkall said there were few details about the death, which occurred in the town of Taji, about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad.
He added that the British military has had a training and advisory operation in the area “for about the past year or so”.
“From that we can surmise that this soldier was there in a training capacity, as opposed to fighting Islamic State further north in Mosul, for example.”
The soldier’s family has been informed and they have requested a period of grace before further information is released, the MoD said.
Meanwhile, gunmen wearing suicide vests attacked two police stations, killing at least seven police officers in the city of Samarra on Monday.
Security sources said that clashes in the central Iraqi city were continuing.
Earlier in the day, at least 36 people were killed in a Baghdad market in a suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the bomber pretended to be a man wanting to hire day labourers but, once the workers had gathered around, he detonated the vehicle.
There were 52 people injured in that attack.