ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An American soldier killed in northern Syria while serving in the US-led international coalition against ISIS has been named as Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar by the Defense Department.
Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, died March 30 in Manbij, Syria as a result of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his patrol, the department said in a statement.
British soldier Sergeant Matt Tonroe, 33, who was embedded with US forces, was also killed in the explosion, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed Saturday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported four members of the Manbij Military Council (MMC) were injured.
The incident is under investigation.
“Coalition forces, in an advise, assist and accompany capacity with our partners, were conducting a mission to kill or capture a known (ISIS) member when they were struck by an improvised explosive device,” the US-led coalition said Saturday in a statement to the Associated Press.
Dunbar was assigned to Headquarters, US Army Special Operations Command, Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
He is the fourth American service member to die in Syria since September 2014 when the US began anti-ISIS operations, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System.
Turkey has recently threatened to march east on Manbij where a contingent of international forces are supporting anti-ISIS operations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The backbone of the SDF is the Kurdish-led Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.
Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, died March 30 in Manbij, Syria as a result of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his patrol, the department said in a statement.
British soldier Sergeant Matt Tonroe, 33, who was embedded with US forces, was also killed in the explosion, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed Saturday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported four members of the Manbij Military Council (MMC) were injured.
The incident is under investigation.
“Coalition forces, in an advise, assist and accompany capacity with our partners, were conducting a mission to kill or capture a known (ISIS) member when they were struck by an improvised explosive device,” the US-led coalition said Saturday in a statement to the Associated Press.
Dunbar was assigned to Headquarters, US Army Special Operations Command, Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
He is the fourth American service member to die in Syria since September 2014 when the US began anti-ISIS operations, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System.
Turkey has recently threatened to march east on Manbij where a contingent of international forces are supporting anti-ISIS operations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The backbone of the SDF is the Kurdish-led Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.
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