Donald Trump and daughter Ivanka honour first military casualty of his presidency as they greet coffin of Navy SEAL’s killed in raid in Yemen at US air base

DONALD Trump made an unannounced trip on Wednesday carrying out the sombre duties of commander in chief to honour the returning remains of a US Navy SEAL who was killed in a raid in Yemen.

Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, from Peoria, Illinois, died in the operation, along with an eight-year-old American girl and 29 others.

Three others were wounded.

Owens, who was 36, is the first known US combat casualty since Trump took the role of president.

The billionaire made a trip to Delaware's Dover Air Base with his daughter and their trip was shrouded in secrecy.

They left the White House in the Presidential helicopter and the small group of journalists who travelled with him were told they were only allowed to join the trip on the condition it wasn't reported until he arrived.

Marine One touched down at Dover shortly before a C-17, which was thought to have been carrying Owens' remains landed.

The president was expected to meet with Owens' family, who has asked his visit and the dignified transfer of the Owen's remains was kept private.

It was the former President Barack Obama who lifted the ban on media coverage of dignified transfers.

However many families do still ask for privacy which they are allowed to do.

Sunday's pre-dawn raid was defense official which had been planned by the Obama administration but authorized by Trump.

It could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in Yemen.

More than half a dozen militant suspects were among those killed and the operation.

It also took the life of the eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki. She was a radical cleric and U.S. citizen, who was killed and by a drone strike in 2011.

Trump said during his campaign for the White House he would be willing to "take out" the families of terrorists in order to root out extremism.
On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no Americans "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects.

Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and had got two Bronze stars, as well as an Afghanistan Campaign Medal and a Joint Service Commendation.

He was called a "devoted father, a true professional and a wonderful husband" in a statement by the xx after his death.

Despite there being fewer American troops serving in hotspots around the world, there are still thousands in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Around 8,400 U.S. troops are training and advising local forces in Afghanistan, and more than 5,100 troops are in Iraq.

There are about 500 in Syria who are involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group.

There are also counterterrorism operations in Yemen which are mainly drone strikes, where Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos of the civil war.

Trump said on the campaign trail he would be tougher on the Islamic State and stated he would send up to 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the ISIS extremist group in Iraq and Syria.

Last week, he gave the Pentagon and other agencies 30 days to submit a plan for defeating the Islamic State.