U.S. confirms American troops killed in Syrian blast claimed by Islamic State
BEIRUT - The Islamic State asserted responsibility Wednesday for a suicide blast in the U.S.-patrolled city of Manbij in Syria, the first such attack since President Donald Trump said American forces would withdraw from the country because the militant group has been largely defeated.
In a message posted to Twitter, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State said that U.S. service members were killed while conducting a routine patrol in the city but did not say how many died or provide further details.
Statements published by the Islamic State's unofficial news agency, Amaq, said the attacker used an explosives-laden vest to target coalition forces.
The Amaq statement claimed that nine American troops were killed or injured in the attack but presented no evidence for that claim.
Reuters news agency quoted an unidentified "U.S. official" as saying four U.S. soldiers were killed and three wounded in the blast. There was no immediate confirmation of those figures from the Pentagon or from Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.
Photographs from the area appeared to show bodies and blood trails on the ground. It was not clear whether U.S. personnel were in the area at the time.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 19 people were wounded or killed. A Kurdish news agency said that at least 10 people were injured in the attack, which it said occurred at a popular restaurant.
Trump announced last month that about 2,000 U.S. military personnel would be leaving Syria, almost four years after they intervened as part of an international coalition to dislodge the Islamic State from its self-declared "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.
The president's declaration surprised allies and foes alike, drawing consternation from international partners and accusations of abandonment from a Kurdish partner force that has suffered thousands of casualties during the course of the military campaign.
The White House said in a statement Wednesday that Trump had been "fully briefed" on the Manbij attack and that officials would continue to monitor the situation.
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The Washington Post's Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul and John Wagner in Washington contributed to this report.