BREAKING NEWS! American soldiers killed in ISIS-claimed suicide attack in Syria
Four American soldiers were among 16 people killed and more than a dozen wounded when a suicide bomber attacked US-led coalition forces in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Wednesday, according to a US official.
An ISIS-affiliated website, Amaq, said a suicide attacker with an explosive vest had targeted a foreign military patrol.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a militia source said US troops were among the dead, according to Reuters, which reported that four were killed.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement: “The President has been fully briefed and we will continue to monitor the ongoing situation in Syria. For any specific questions please contact the Department of Defense.”
There was no immediate comment from the coalition or the US military about the explosion or casualties.
“We are aware of the reports. We are working to get information and CENTCOM is going to release something when it’s appropriate,” a US military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Kurdish Hawar news agency and the UK-based Observatory reported US troops were among the casualties.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed local sources, said a number of American soldiers were injured and that the US military evacuated troops by helicopter.
Last month, President Trump made a surprise announcement that he would withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria after concluding ISIS had been defeated there.
The announcement rattled allies and top US officials, including Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who resigned in protest.
Opponents of the US pullout warned that Manbij and other towns near the border with Turkey might come under attack by the Turkish military, which has threatened to invade to clear them of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia, or YPG.
Turkey considers the YPG an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has long fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.
Two witnesses described Wednesday’s blast to Reuters.
“An explosion hit near a restaurant, targeting the Americans, and there were some forces for the Manbij Military Council with them,” one said.
The Manbij Military Council militia has controlled the town since American-backed Kurdish-led forces took it from ISIS in 2016.
It is located near areas held by Russian-backed Syrian government forces and by Turkish-backed fighters opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
On Dec. 19, Trump tweeted that the US had “defeated ISIS in Syria,” adding that was the “only reason” to have troops on the ground there.
“We have won against ISIS. We have beaten them and we have beaten them badly,” he said in a video.
Administration officials later said the withdrawal will happen more slowly — though a US military official last week said the American-led military coalition has begun the process of withdrawing troops from Syria.
https://nypost.com/2019/01/16/american-soldie...-719080549
Four American soldiers were among 16 people killed and more than a dozen wounded when a suicide bomber attacked US-led coalition forces in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Wednesday, according to a US official.
An ISIS-affiliated website, Amaq, said a suicide attacker with an explosive vest had targeted a foreign military patrol.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a militia source said US troops were among the dead, according to Reuters, which reported that four were killed.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement: “The President has been fully briefed and we will continue to monitor the ongoing situation in Syria. For any specific questions please contact the Department of Defense.”
There was no immediate comment from the coalition or the US military about the explosion or casualties.
“We are aware of the reports. We are working to get information and CENTCOM is going to release something when it’s appropriate,” a US military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Kurdish Hawar news agency and the UK-based Observatory reported US troops were among the casualties.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed local sources, said a number of American soldiers were injured and that the US military evacuated troops by helicopter.
Last month, President Trump made a surprise announcement that he would withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria after concluding ISIS had been defeated there.
The announcement rattled allies and top US officials, including Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who resigned in protest.
Opponents of the US pullout warned that Manbij and other towns near the border with Turkey might come under attack by the Turkish military, which has threatened to invade to clear them of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia, or YPG.
Turkey considers the YPG an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has long fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.
Two witnesses described Wednesday’s blast to Reuters.
“An explosion hit near a restaurant, targeting the Americans, and there were some forces for the Manbij Military Council with them,” one said.
The Manbij Military Council militia has controlled the town since American-backed Kurdish-led forces took it from ISIS in 2016.
It is located near areas held by Russian-backed Syrian government forces and by Turkish-backed fighters opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
On Dec. 19, Trump tweeted that the US had “defeated ISIS in Syria,” adding that was the “only reason” to have troops on the ground there.
“We have won against ISIS. We have beaten them and we have beaten them badly,” he said in a video.
Administration officials later said the withdrawal will happen more slowly — though a US military official last week said the American-led military coalition has begun the process of withdrawing troops from Syria.
https://nypost.com/2019/01/16/american-soldie...-719080549
1
