An explosion in Syria killed U.S. troops on Wednesday.
Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, announced on Twitter that the U.S. service members were killed while conducting a routine patrol.
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.
— OIR Spokesperson (@OIRSpox) January 16, 2019
While OIR said it was still gathering information and didn’t state how many troops had died, a U.S. official told Reuters that four soldiers were killed and three more were wounded in the blast near the northern city of Manbij.
The source of the attack, which reportedly killed 14 people in total, is also unconfirmed, but an Islamic State-affiliate website claimed a suicide attacker targeted a foreign military patrol.
The attack comes at the start of the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, where about 2,200 troops are stationed. President Trump made the shock announcement last month, declaring ISIS dead. The announcement prompted the abrupt exit of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
In the weeks since, Trump has backed off his initial call for a swift U.S. exit — as evidenced by national security adviser John Bolton saying earlier this month that American forces would remain in Syria until the Islamic State’s remnants are destroyed and a pullout would be incumbent on Turkey offering assurances it would not harm Kurdish allies of the U.S. operating in the area.
