Navy EOD Sailor First US Service Member KIA in Syria

The first US service member killed in action in Syria is one of hundreds of Americans working alongside Syrian Democratic Forces pushing toward the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton, 42, of Woodbridge, Va., was killed Nov. 24 by an improvised explosive device near the town of Ayn Issa. Dayton was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two, based in Virginia Beach. The US has about 300 troops on the ground inside Syria, though the Pentagon has offered limited information about their whereabouts and duties in the fight against ISIS. US Special Forces are on the ground to “keep an eye on what’s happening and provide feedback” inside Syria, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said earlier this month. US troops had been embedded with Turkish forces in their advance inside Syria, though the US pulled the teams as Turkish forces pushed toward al Bab without notifying the coalition. Dayton was the second Navy EOD sailor killed in Operation Inherent Resolve in two months. Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was killed Oct. 20 in an IED blast in northern Iraq.