WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday said Devon M. Faulkner, a U.S. Navy aviation boatswain’s mate airman, died from a non-combat-related injury while supporting the U.S.-led coalition operation against the Islamic State in Libya.
Faulkner, 24, from North Carolina, was assigned to the USS Wasp, which is forward deployed in the central Mediterranean Sea. The incident surrounding Faulkner’s death on Tuesday is under investigation.
The U.S.-led effort against the Islamic State in Libya, named Operation Odyssey Lightning, began in late July with airstrikes being carried out against IS-held positions in the coastal city of Sirte. The Pentagon estimated there to be about 1,000 IS militants in Libya prior to the start of airstrikes.
Libya has been in conflict since its civil war in 2011, when longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi was killed by rebels backed by the United States and NATO.
