Two US-led coalition troops killed in Syria

Two US-led coalition troops killed in Syria
Two members of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria have been killed in the northern city in Manbij.
1 min read
30 March, 2018
US personnel is stationed in the Syrian city of Manbij [Getty]

Two members of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria were killed in the northern city of Manbij, the US military and a monitor said on Friday.

The bomb attack in Manbij, a city where US personnel is stationed, was carried out late on Thursday, the day US President Donald Trump said he would pull out forces "very soon".

"Two Coalition personnel were killed and five were wounded by an improvised explosive device in Syria" at around midnight (9pm GMT), the US-led coalition said in a statement.

A Pentagon official later confirmed one was American, while the UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed the death of a British soldier.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, in which an improvised explosive device hit a convoy, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitor said four members of the local council were also wounded in the explosion, which struck in the heart of the city.

Manbij used to be a key hub for IS militants when their self-styled "caliphate" was at its peak. It was retaken by Kurdish-led forces backed by the coalition. 

Turkey, having recently captured Afrin from Kurdish SDF forces, has threatened to expand its operation to other Kurdish-held areas, including Manbij.