An American Air Force pilot was killed on November 30 when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed shortly after takeoff from a base in the Middle East, according to a report from from US Central Command.
The incident was not combat-related and did not occur in Iraq or Syria, according to the CENTCOM notice. But the US has several Middle Eastern bases supporting aerial efforts against ISIS elsewhere in the region.
These include Al Udeid in the Qatari desert, CENTCOM's forward headquarters in the Middle East; Al Dhafra Air Base, a base in the United Arab Emirates that hosts American aircraft; and the major base in Bahrain that hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
If the pilot or aircraft was involved in ongoing anti-ISIS operations, this would not be the first American death that is in some way related to the three-month old Operation Inherent Resolve.
In October, the death of a Marine Corporal who disappeared at sea after bailing from a disabled MV-22 Osprey was classified as related to Operation Inherent Resolve. A Marine lance corporal was also killed in a non-combat-related incident in Baghdad in late October.