The U.S. military says a number of service members were killed Wednesday in an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria — the first instance of U.S. casualties since President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw troops from the country last month.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the rare morning attack in the U.S.-patrolled town of Manbij in northern Syria, saying one of its members carried out a suicide attack and detonated his vest filled with explosives.
Videos released by local activists and news agencies showed a restaurant that suffered extensive damage and a street covered with debris and blood. Several cars were also damaged. Another video showed a helicopter flying over the area.
A local town council and a Syrian war monitoring group said the blast occurred near a restaurant near the town's main market, near a patrol of the U.S.-led coalition, killing and wounding more than a dozen people.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 16 people were killed including nine civilians and others were wounded in the blast. It added that at least five U.S.-backed Syrian fighters were also among the dead.
The U.S. military released a statement on Twitter that said: "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."