2019 Manbij bombing
The Manbij bombing occurred on 16 January 2019 when a suicide bomber targeted a busy market street in Manbij known to be frequented by American soldiers during the Syrian civil war.
| Manbij bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Eastern Syrian insurgency and the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War | |
 | |
| Location | Manbij, Aleppo Governorate, Syria |
| Date | 16 January 2019 |
| Target | American military personnel |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Weapons | Bomb |
| Deaths | 19[1]
|
| Injured | 3 US servicemen |
| Perpetrators |  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
Background
In the Syrian Civil War, the city of Manbij was taken by the Free Syrian Army in 2012, and then by ISIS in 2014.[2] In 2016, the city was taken by the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the Manbij offensive.[2][3]
The Palace of the Princes restaurant was popular with Americans, located on a crowded downtown street in Manbij.[3] U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Jeanne Shaheen ate there when they visited Syria in July 2018.[3]
The attack
Several American military personnel were inside the Palace of Princes restaurant when a suicide bomber triggered an explosion outside the restaurant around midday on Wednesday, 16 January 2019.[4] The bomber mixed into a crowd of people visiting a nearby vegetable market and detonated his explosive vest near the restaurant entrance, igniting a fireball that left the dead and wounded scattered in the street.[3] Rescue workers rushed the wounded to the hospital, and military helicopters landed on a nearby soccer field to take the dead and wounded Americans and civilians to medical facilities.[3]
Casualties
The U.S. Department of Defense released a statement on 18 January 2019, identifying their three employees: a soldier, a sailor, and an intelligence expert.[5] Defense contractor Valiant Integrated Services identified one of their employees as the fourth American killed.[6] The four deceased Americans were:
- Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida. Farmer was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.[7]
- Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon M. Kent, 35, of upstate New York. Kent was assigned to Cryptologic Warfare Activity 66, based at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.[8] Her husband was Joe Kent, an army officer who would later run for a U.S. House seat.
- DOD civilian intelligence officer Scott A. Wirtz of St. Louis, Missouri. Wirtz was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an operations support specialist.[9]
- Civilian contractor Ghadir (Jasmine) Taher of East Point, Georgia. Taher worked for Valiant Integrated Services as an interpreter for U.S. troops in Syria.[10]
The total death toll is believed to be 19, including 15 local SDF fighters.[1] Three other American servicemen were also injured.[11] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.[12]
Aftermath
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U.S. President Donald Trump paid tribute to the fallen Americans during a trip to Dover Air Force Base in the US state of Delaware on 19 January, where their remains were received.[13]
A second joint convoy of U.S. and allied Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria was hit in al-Hasakah 5 days later, there were no casualties, with two Kurdish fighters were lightly wounded in the blast.[14]
References
- "4 members of the Coalition, 15 of the civilians and local members die in the first bombing of its kind by a suicide bomber targeting the Coalition since it entered Syria". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- Moussa, Jenan; Doornbos, Harald (31 May 2018). "The End of the World Will Start Here in Manbij". The New York Times.
- Hubbard, Ben; Schmitt, Eric (17 January 2019). "A Favorite Restaurant in Syria Led ISIS to Americans". The New York Times.
- Bacon, John (16 January 2019). "Suicide bomber kills four U.S. citizens in Syrian blast; ISIS claims responsibility". USAToday.
- "DOD Identifies Three Operation Inherent Resolve Casualties". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 18 January 2019.
- Branigin, William; Mettler, Katie; Ryan, Missy (18 January 2019). "Americans slain in Syria attack: A Green Beret, a former SEAL and two language specialists". The Washington Post.
- Cohen, Howard (18 January 2019). "South Florida soldier is among the four Americans killed in Syria suicide bombing". Miami Herald.
- Santistevan, Ryan (18 January 2019). "Dutchess sailor killed in Syria caring, accomplished". Poughkeepsie Journal.
- Benchaabane, Nassim; Hunn, David (20 January 2019). "'The ultimate hero': Civilian from St. Louis among dead in Syrian suicide bombing". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Redmon, Jeremy (18 January 2019). "East Point woman among 19 killed in suicide bombing in Syria". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Cohen, Zachary; Stracqualursi, Veronica; Liptak, Kevin (17 January 2019). "US service members killed in ISIS-claimed attack in Syria". CNN.
- Bacon, John (16 January 2019). "Suicide bomber kills four U.S. citizens in Syrian blast; ISIS claims responsibility". USA Today.
- Stewart, Ian (19 January 2019). "Trump Travels To Dover AFB For Dignified Transfer Of 4 Americans Killed In Syria". NPR.
- "ISIL targets joint US-Kurdish convoy in northeastern Syria". Al Jazeera. 21 January 2019.
