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Louisa Loveluck
Journalist at the Washington Post office in Beirut, focusing on Syria.
Missy Ryan
Reporter covering the Pentagon, military issues and national security
January 16th at 7:09 pm
BEIRUT – Four Americans were killed Wednesday in a suicide bombing in Syria, the biggest loss of life in the Pentagon war against Islamic State militants and a sign of the formidable threat that remains when the Trump administration begins to withdraw.
Officials said that a bomber blew up an explosive vest while a group of Americans, including two members of the armed forces, a Pentagon civilian and a US contractor killed during the attack. Attack, met local military officials in a restaurant in Manbij, in the north of the country.
Three more US service members were injured, US Central Command said in a statement.
[Pence declares ‘ISIS is defeated’ hours after attack kills U.S. troops]
The incident comes as the Pentagon begins its withdrawal from Syria, in line with President Trump's announcement last month that ISIS had been defeated and troops returned home.
The surprise announcement made by the president on December 19 canceled plans for an ongoing mission to Syria, supported by Trump's military leaders and senior advisers on national security, and prompted many critics, including from Republican allies who warned that a premature departure could allow the return of activists. Nearly a month after Trump's initial statement, contradictory statements by senior officials, including the president himself, have fueled confusion about the precise nature of the administration's plan.
In a message posted by his unofficial news agency, Amaq, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Manbij explosion but provided no evidence to support this badertion .
The video of a surveillance camera showed the explosion on a busy sidewalk, sending a child running out of flames, hands crossed over his ears. Bodies and streaks of blood could be observed scattered on the ground in photographs taken immediately afterwards.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights based in Britain said at least 19 people were injured or killed.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders paid tribute to "brave American heroes" who died during the attack. "Our soldiers and their families have sacrificed a lot for our country," she said in a statement.
The White House said Trump had been "fully informed" of the incident, the deadliest since the arrival of US troops in Syria in 2015. Previously, two US servicemen had been killed in action.
Speaking to the State Department several hours after the publication of the first reports on the victims did not mention the incident, but praised Trump's leadership in the fight against militants in Syria.
"We are bringing our troops home," said Pence in a speech to more than 180 US ambbadadors and overseas mission chiefs gathered for a conference in Washington. "The caliphate has collapsed and ISIS has been defeated."
In a statement released by his office later in the day, Pence expressed his condolences to the families of the Americans killed, condemned the attack and said that the United States "will never allow the remnants of the" Islamic state to restore their diabolical and murderous caliphate – no now, never.
[U.S. military announces start of Syria withdrawal]
The dissonance between the Vice President's initial statement and the bloodshed on the ground in Syria reflects conflicting internal badessments of the current state of the campaign against ISIS.
Trump, announcing last month that the force of more than 2,000 US troops would leave Syria, announced a categorical victory against the Islamic State more than four years after the launch by an international coalition of an international coalition to dislodge activists from their self-proclaimed "caliphate". Syria and Iraq.
The president's statement sparked consternation on the part of foreign partners, notably France and Britain, and accusations of abandonment by a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force, which suffered thousands of victims. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned the next day.
Since then, Trump and other senior officials have sometimes resorted to more cautious rhetoric in addressing the Islamic State, which the Pentagon believes would retain significant combat power, particularly in the eastern part of the world. Syria, where he continues to hold territories.
Although Trump initially suggested that the troops leave immediately, the White House later said there was no timetable for the US departure. To compound the confusion, military officials said they were proceeding with the order to withdraw in about four months.
On Friday, the army announced that she had begun withdrawing equipment but not forces. It is not known what weapons or equipment were removed from Manbij, which was recovered by activists in 2016.
Hundreds of US soldiers have been stationed in Manbij to try to prevent extremists from regaining strength and promoting stability in a strategic area for NATO's ally in northern Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces, the main US partner against the Islamic State.
Turkey considers that some Syrian Kurds, including US partner forces, are part of a terrorist group.
US troops have been more visible in Manbij than in other areas, flying American flags as part of their stabilization efforts in the region.
Lawmakers on both sides seized the attack as evidence that Trump should rethink his plans for Syria. Senator Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.), who pbaded between praise and excoriating the President, delivered a pbadionate speech at the beginning of William P. Barr's confirmation of charges hearing in order to serve Attorney General, imploring Trump to reconsider his position. light of the carnage.
"What worries me about President Trump's statements is that you triggered the enthusiasm of the enemy we are fighting. You ask people we try to help to ask about us, and as they become more daring, the people we are trying to help will become more uncertain. I saw that in Iraq and I see it now in Syria, "Graham said.
"I know people are frustrated. But we will never be safe here unless we are willing to help the people there who will stand up against this radical ideology, "he added. "For those who lost their lives today in Syria, you were defending America in my eyes. . . and I hope that the President will examine at length what we are doing in Syria. "
Senator Jack Reed (DR.I.), at a meeting of HillVets, a group of Washington veterans, said that the United States was not showing the world leadership they had done proof in the past.
"The very tragic situation today is a reflection of the inadequacy of ISIS," he said. Reed said it was vital to maintain military pressure on the group and warned that the leaders of the Islamic State had interpreted Trump's calls for a withdrawal from Syria as "a great relief from the pressure on them ".
As the Pentagon begins to retreat, it is unclear whether the White House plan will include an exit for several hundred soldiers currently stationed at the Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria. While National Security Adviser John Bolton has hinted that this base, considered essential to limit Iran's influence in Syria, may remain open, the military authorities plan to close it.
Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul and Karen DeYoung, Greg Jaffe, Carol Morello, John Wagner, Karoun Demirjian and William Branigin in Washington contributed to the writing of this report. Ryan reported from Washington.
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Analysis | Trump's withdrawal to Syria (if there is one), explained
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