{"id":91147,"date":"2018-04-01T14:23:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-01T14:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/01\/blast-that-killed-us-uk-troops-shook-alley-in-syrian-town\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:27:11","slug":"blast-that-killed-us-uk-troops-shook-alley-in-syrian-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/01\/blast-that-killed-us-uk-troops-shook-alley-in-syrian-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Blast that killed US, UK troops shook alley in Syrian town"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MANBIJ, Syria \u2014 Residents of the small alley where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/30\/two-coalition-personnel-killed-by-ied-in-syria\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">an explosion killed two members of the U.S.-led coalition<\/a> this week were fixing their windows and the fronts of their homes on Saturday. Shards of glass still littered the dirt road and metal shutters were twisted out of shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The explosion Thursday was the first to hit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/30\/in-private-trump-has-mused-about-syria-pullout-for-weeks\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">the U.S.-led coalition<\/a> deployed here months after the town was liberated from Islamic State militants in 2016. An American and a Briton were killed, and a number of local security members were injured. The improvised explosive device went off during an operation against a member of the Islamic State group in this mixed Arab and Kurdish town, the U.S.-led Coalition said Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/31\/dod-identifies-soldier-killed-in-syria-ied-attack\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-MSG-Jonathan-Dunbar.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">DoD identifies soldier killed in Syria IED attack<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Master Sgt. Jonathan Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, was deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCoalition forces, in an advise, assist and accompany capacity with our partners, were conducting a mission to kill or capture a known (IS) member when they were struck by an improvised explosive device,\u201d the coalition said in a statement to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Residents described a large blast. A local security member on the scene, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said there was gunfire before the explosion went off. Locals speculated the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber, judging by the extent of the damage to the alley and the bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/29\/us-officials-say-theyre-not-conducting-presence-patrols-in-manbij-syria-but-new-photos-show-otherwise\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95.jpg_365c20.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US officials say they\u2019re not conducting \u2018presence patrols\u2019 in Manbij, Syria, but new photos show otherwise<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Operation Inherent Resolve recently posted pictures of U.S. soldiers near Manbij, Syria, conducting what the captions called \u201cpresence patrols.\u201d But after Military Times reached out to U.S. officials, the photos were quickly removed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHalf an hour after the explosion, the choppers were in the air,\u201d resident Mohammed Eid said, adding the explosion just before midnight woke him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His family, which lives in the building opposite where the explosion happened, was fixing windows in the first floor Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"733\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18090732871385.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-85876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18090732871385.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18090732871385.jpg.jpg?resize=300,215 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18090732871385.jpg.jpg?resize=768,550 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Members of the Kurdish internal security forces pass near damaged shops at the scene where an explosion on March 29 hit U.S.-led coalition vehicles, killing two soldiers &#8211; an American and a Briton &#8211; in Manbij town, north Syria, Saturday, March 31, 2018. (Hussein Malla\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local authorities said a joint investigation was ongoing. It follows what appeared to be rare joint raid in Manbij against suspected ISIS cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The town has served as a model of stabilization in post-ISIS areas in northern Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in recent weeks, Manbij has seen an assassination attempt against a senior Kurdish official on the highway outside the town and a number of small explosions. Authorities imposed a curfew after 11 p.m., and in recent days barred motorcycles from moving around the town after sunset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not clear who was behind the attacks. Officials express concern about ISIS attempting to re-emerge and accused Turkey and the Syrian government of seeking to destabilize the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey has threatened to move on Manbij to expel the U.S-backed Kurdish militia in control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. troops have increased their visibility in Manbij and around the front line that separates the town from Turkey-backed fighters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents of the small alley where an explosion killed two members of the U.S.-led coalition this week were fixing their windows and the fronts of their homes on Saturday. Shards of glass still littered the dirt road and metal shutters were twisted out of shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":92651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"5":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-army","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"6":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-marine-corps","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-navy","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[10,15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1348],"class_list":["post-91147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FHPOGFI4VZFN5B4JMJKBJV5TV4","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/01\/blast-that-killed-us-uk-troops-shook-alley-in-syrian-town\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blast that killed US, UK troops shook alley in Syrian town - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Residents of the small alley where an explosion killed two members of the U.S.-led coalition this week were fixing their windows and the fronts of their homes on Saturday. 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