By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ash Carter, who served as a U.S. defense secretary during the Obama administration, died late on Monday at the age of 68 after a sudden cardiac event, his family said in a statement on Tuesday. A decades-long defense wonk who gradually ascended to the Pentagon’s top job, Carter helped oversee the launch of a military strategy that would drive back the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and ultimately defeat the militant group. Under Carter, the U.S. military opened all military roles to women and also ended a ban on openly serving transgender…