US and British soldiers die during training exercise at Iraq air base

One American soldier and one British soldier died during a training exercise Sunday at an air base in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, U.S. and U.K. officials announced Monday without releasing further details.

The U.S. Army said the American soldier’s identity is being withheld until 24 hours after the family has been notified. The U.K.’s Ministry of Defence said in a separate statement that the British soldier’s family has already been notified and requested a “period of grace” before more details are released.

The deaths come nearly a month after two American soldiers died after falling off a cliff during an off-duty recreational hike in Morocco, where they had been participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise.