DAILY DOSE | U.S. forces were on their way out of Syria when a suicide bomber, allegedly belonging to ISIS, killed 15 people — four of them American troops. This followed a strong statement by Trump on withdrawing from Syria. Did his statement influence this attack in any way? INSS fellow Yoram Schweitzer analyzes.
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An Islamic State-claimed suicide attack targeting US-led coalition forces in the flashpoint northern Syrian city of Manbij killed at least 15 people including four US serviceman on Wednesday.
A US official confirmed that four American servicemen were killed in the attack and at least three others were wounded.
'Two US service members, one Department of Defense civilian and one contractor supporting DoD were killed and three service members were injured while conducting a local engagement in Manbij,' the US military's Central Command said in a statement.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least nine Syrian civilians were killed in the blast in addition to five individuals from the SDF accompanying forces.
The attack comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump claimed that the Islamic State militant group that launched the attack had been defeated and US troops would be withdrawing from Syria.
Speaking at a gathering in Washington of US ambassadors, Vice President Mike Pence did not comment on the attack and just said that the United States would ensure the defeat of IS.
'We'll stay in the region and we'll stay in the fight to ensure that IS does not rear its ugly head again,' he said.
According to Pentagon statistics, Wednesday's blast was the deadliest attack for US coalition forces in Syria since they deployed in 2014.
The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, said it was the first such suicide attack in the city in 10 months.
Shortly after the attack, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault targeting the US-led coalition.
'Suicide attacker Abu Yassin al-Shami wearing an explosive vest set off towards a patrol including members of the Crusader coalition and the PKK apostates near the Palace of Princes restaurant in the city of Manbij,' a statement posted on the group's usual social media channels said.
The name provided by IS suggests the bomber was Syrian and the term 'PKK apostates' is used by the jihadists to refer to Kurdish forces from the People's Protection Units (YPG).
The YPG, a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state, is a key component of a local force that often carries out joint patrols with the coalition.
US helicopters were seen landing and taking off from the area, according to local sources, lending credence to the claims that there were US victims among the casualties.
Graphic evidence released on social media showed devastation at the apparent scene of the blast, which was named as the Qasr al-Umra restaurants, with storefronts destroyed and evidence of the blast.
The bombing comes as Syrian Kurds present in areas around Manbij reject any Turkish presence in a planned 'safe zone' to include Kurdish-held areas along the frontier.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had a 'quite positive' telephone conversation with Trump late on Monday where he reaffirmed that 'a 20-mile (30 kilometer) security zone along the Syrian border... will be set up by us.'
The security zones should serve as protection for the Syrian Kurds, who fear a Turkish invasion after Trump announced his decision to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria.
Senior political leader Aldar Khalil said the Kurds would accept the deployment of UN forces along the separation line between Kurdish fighters and Turkish troops to ward off a threatened offensive.
'Other choices are unacceptable as they infringe on the sovereignty of Syria and the sovereignty of our autonomous region,' Khalil told AFP.
IS no longer holds fixed positions in the Manbij area and is currently defending its very last pocket of land against US-backed Kurdish-led forces in eastern Syria.
The jihadist group retains the ability however to carry out deadly suicide attacks in many parts of the country.
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