A U.S. soldier has been killed in a Special Operations raid that rescued up to 70 Iraqis, who were being held hostage by ISIS in Iraq.

The overnight raid was launched on a militant-run prison near the northern ISIS stronghold of Hawija, ‘after receiving information that the hostages faced imminent mass execution’, said the Pentagon.

Six ISIS fighters were arrested and more than 20 were reportedly killed in the operation.

The Delta Force soldier is the first American killed in ground combat with ISIS, and the first killed in action in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew from the country in December 2011.

Scroll down for video

Rescue: A U.S. Special Operations raid has rescued ‘numerous’ Iraqis who were being held captive by ISIS, according to a senior defence official

The rescued hostages included more than 20 members of Iraq's security forces, as well as military and police, according to Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.

‘People were chained to walls,’ one high-ranking military source told Fox News. ‘A mass atrocity was averted.’

The soldier who died ‘was wounded during the rescue mission acting in support of Iraqi Peshmerga forces after they came under fire’ by ISIS, continued the Pentagon.

‘He subsequently died after receiving medical care.’

Four Peshmerga soldiers - the Kurdish region's organised militia - were also wounded.

The target of the raid was a prison run by ISIS militants in the mostly Kurdish province of Kirkuk, according to local reports.

American airstrikes were used to destroy roads leading to the site, to prevent militants making an escape.

The raid has been described as a significant joint strike against ISIS, as Iraqi and U.S. officials attempt to mount a wider counteroffensive against the jihadi efforts.

ISIS territory: The raid was launched just east of the ISIS stronghold of Hawija, in northern Iraq, in the largely Kurdish region of Kirkuk

Combat: Four Peshmerga soldiers - the Kurdish region's organised militia - were also wounded in the raid (Pictured, Kurdish peshmerga fighters take positions on the front line against ISIS militants in northern Iraq, file image)

Hawija is a key focus of this effort in recent weeks, as an important ISIS stronghold.

President Barack Obama requested permission from Congress in February requesting authorisation for ‘limited’ ground combat operations against ISIS.

The raid reportedly involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, and airstrikes.

Sheikh Irfan, who said his nephew was among the Kurdish peshmerga fighters held prisoner, said a peshmerga official called his family today to confirm the rescue mission.

He said he was told that 70 hostages were freed, including peshmerga fighters.

Strike: The raid has been described as a significant joint strike against ISIS, as Iraqi and U.S. officials attempt to mount a wider counteroffensive against the jihadi efforts

He added that he was told that helicopter-borne paratroopers arrived at the scene.

This is the first confirmed U.S. operation to have taken place in Iraq, although others have been carried out in Syria.

In May, American special operations forces killed senior Islamic State leader Abu Sayyaf from Tunisia in a raid in Syria.

Since operations began against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition has conducted 7,603 airstrikes – 4,933 of these took place in Iraq and 2,670 were conducted in Syria.

The Pentagon added: ‘The U.S. and our coalition will continue to work with our Iraqi partners to degrade and defeat [ISIS], and return Iraq to the full control of its people.’