An American serviceman has died after being wounded by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria, officials have said.

The man was fatally injured near the town of Ayn Issa, the US military's central command said.

Around 300 US servicemen and women are on the ground in support of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting Islamic State militants near Raqqa.

In a statement, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said: "The entire counter-Islamic State coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates.

"On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from IS's hateful and brutal ideology."


US Defence Secretary Ash Carter called the death a "painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe."

The victim's identity has not been released.

The death comes as hundreds of refugees arrived in territories around Ayn Issa controlled by the SDF, after fleeing IS-held villages in the northern Raqqa countryside.

The civilians, many of them shepherds, said IS militants had tried to force them to move back towards Raqqa, Islamic State's self-declared capital, and then on to Syrian government-controlled areas.

One of the women said she and the other civilians had stayed in their homes, before slipping away and crossing into SDF areas.