BAGHDAD: Daesh (ISIS) Sunday claimed an attack on U.S. forces assisting Iraqi troops in the war on the militants in northern Iraq. Daesh fighters fired Grad rockets on American troops east of Tal Afar, a town still under control of the militants west of Mosul, an online statement from the group said.

The American military had said earlier that two U.S. service members had been killed and five injured during combat operations in northern Iraq Sunday.

More than 5,000 U.S. troops are taking part in the war against Daesh in Iraq, according the Pentagon. The vast majority operate within heavily guarded bases, collecting and sharing intelligence with Iraqi forces and providing logistical support.

But as the fight has evolved over the past three years, more and more U.S. troops are operating close to the front lines.

Daesh also claimed responsibility for an attack on Iraqi troops outside Karbala that left one dead, according to a statement from the group.

The attack late Saturday came as Iraqi forces prepare an assault on a Daesh-held town west of Mosul after the country’s prime minister declared victory over the militants in the country’s second-largest city in July.

The suicide car bomb attack struck a security checkpoint outside Karbala and injured two others, according to Iraqi Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Joint Military Command.

The Daesh statement said the attack targeted a cement factory outside Karbala and resulted in dozens of casualties.

Karbala, some 90 kilometers south of Baghdad, is home to the Imam Hussein Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.