US forces are in the outskirts of the Syrian town of Manbija
Two U.S. service members, one Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and one contractor supporting DoD were killed and three service members were injured in the recent attack in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the U.S. Army Central Command (CENTCOM) announced at the late hours of January 16.
“Initial reports indicate an explosion caused the casualties, and the incident is under investigation,” CENCTOM said in a short press release.
Earlier, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and revealed that it was carried out by a suicide bomber named “Abu Yasin al-Shami.” According to local sources, al-Shami blew himself up in a patrol of the US-led coalition in front of the Prince Restaurant in the center of Manbij.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the attack could be meant to dissuade the U.S. from leaving Syria. However, he stressed that he believes in President Donald Trump’s determination to withdraw troops from Syria.
This was the bloodiest attack against US-led coalition troops in Syria since the beginning of the war on ISIS in 2014. Prior to it, the terrorist group’s cells targeted Kurdish fighters and prominent local figures mostly.
