4 Americans among those killed in Syria attack claimed by ISIS

ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion that killed four Americans and at least 10 other people in the Syrian city of Manbij on Wednesday.

The American deaths included two US service members, a defense contractor and a Department of Defense civilian, the US Central Command said in a statement. Three other US service members were injured in the attack.
“Initial reports indicate an explosion caused the casualties, and the incident is under investigation,” the statement said.

The American civilian was an intelligence expert who was with the troops hoping to collect information about security and adversaries in the area, according to three US officials.
Eight civilians and two fighters from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in the blast, a senior commander from the Manbij military council told CNN.
Prior to Wednesday’s attack, only two US service members had been killed in action in Syria since the start of the campaign in 2014.

The US-led coalition confirmed earlier Wednesday that US service members were killed in the attack, but did not provide details regarding the number of casualties at the time and said the service members were “conducting a routine patrol” at the time of the explosion.
“U.S. service members were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria today. We are still gathering information and will share additional details at a later time,” a tweet from Operation Inherent Resolve’s spokesperson said.
The names of the two US service members will be withheld for 24 hours until next of kin is notified in accordance with DOD policy, according to CENTCOM’s statement.