2019 Manbij bombing
Suicide bombing attack in Syria
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The Manbij bombing occurred on 16 January 2019 when a suicide bomber targeted a busy market street in Manbij, Syria, known to be frequented by American soldiers during the Syrian civil war.
12:38 (UTC+3)
| Manbij bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Eastern Syrian insurgency and the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War | |
Immediate aftermath of the bombing | |
| Location | Manbij, Aleppo Governorate, Syria |
| Date | 16 January 2019 12:38 (UTC+3) |
| 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.[4] In 2016, the city was taken by the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the Manbij offensive.[4][5]
The Palace of the Princes restaurant was popular with Americans, located on a crowded downtown street in Manbij.[5] U.S. senators Lindsey Graham and Jeanne Shaheen ate there when they visited Syria in July 2018.[5]
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.[6] 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.[5] 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.[5]
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.[7] Defense contractor Valiant Integrated Services identified one of their employees as the fourth American killed.[8] 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.[9]
- 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.[10]
- DOD civilian intelligence officer Scott A. Wirtz of St. Louis, Missouri. Wirtz was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an operations support specialist.[11]
- Civilian contractor Ghadir (Jasmine) Taher of East Point, Georgia. Taher worked for Valiant Integrated Services as an interpreter for U.S. troops in Syria.[12]
The total death toll is believed to be 19, including 15 local SDF fighters.[1] Three other American servicemen were also injured.[13] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.[14]
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.[15]
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 serious casualties; two Kurdish fighters were lightly wounded in the blast.[16]