The Islamic State has claimed credit for a deadly suicide attack in the Syrian city of Manbij Wednesday that reportedly killed four American troops and wounded several others.
The bombing targeted a joint patrol of American and Kurdish forces near the Qasr al Umara restaurant in downtown Manbij, according to local reports. ISIS touted the attack on the group’s online propaganda site Amaq News agency.
The attack comes as the Pentagon is preparing to carry out President Trump’s order to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria. The roughly 2,000 American troops have been working with local Kurdish and Arab forces to battle Islamic State.
Manbij has thus far been the main training and logistics hub for U.S. forces inside Syria.
Local news outlets, citing eyewitness reports, said four U.S. troops were killed in the blast, which left another three Americans injured. A U.S. official confirmed to Reuters that four U.S. troops died as a result of the attack. Officials from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 14 Syrian civilians were also killed in the deadly attack.
Officials from Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, declined to comment on the details of the attack. Command officials are “aware of … reports regarding an explosion in Syria,” Spokesman Col. Sean Ryan said in a Twitter post Wednesday morning.
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“Coalition forces conducted a routine patrol in Syria today. We are still gathering information and … additional details,” he added.
President Trump has been briefed on the incident, the White House said Wednesday. “The president has been fully briefed and we will continue to monitor the ongoing situation in Syria,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Reaction from Capitol Hill was swift, with several senior lawmakers citing the attack as cause for the White House to rethink its Syria withdrawal plans.
“Today’s deadly bombing targeting our troops in Syria is a reminder that ISIS still has the capacity to carry out attacks,” House Foreign Relations Ranking Member Mike McCaul said in a statement.
“I strongly urge the President to forcefully respond and ensure we do not withdraw our troops until ISIS is completely destroyed,” the Texas Republican said, while noting the fight against the terror group “cannot be America’s responsibility alone.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said the White House’s withdrawal plan was emboldening ISIS, noting Wednesday’s attack may only be the beginning.
“You make people who are trying to help wonder about us and as [ISIS] gets bolder, the people who are trying to help are going to get more uncertain,” he said during Wednesday’s confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee William Barr, regarding Mr. Trump’s claims the terror group was defeated.
“Every American wants our troops to come home, but I think all of us want to make sure [that] when they do come home, we’re safe,” the longtime Senate Armed Services Committee member said. “I hope the president will look long and hard about what we’re doing in Syria.”
The ISIS bombing came on the same day that Vice President Mike Pence praised Mr. Trump’s withdrawal plan, reiterating White House claims that ISIS has been defeated in the Middle East.
“Thanks to the leadership of this [Commander in Chief] and the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces, we’re now actually able to begin to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria,” Mr. Pence said in a speech Wednesday.
“We are bringing our troops home. The caliphate has crumbled and ISIS has been defeated,” he added.
Mr. Trump reportedly agreed to pull out all U.S. troops from Syria in December, after a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in return agreed to provide Turkish forces to battle remnants of the Islamic State in the wake of the American withdrawal.
• David Boyer contributed to this report
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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