The US-led coalition said Friday that two of its personnel had been killed and another five wounded in Syria by an improvised explosive device.
The coalition said in a statement that the wounded were being evacuated for medical treatment, and that the dead would be named at the discretion of their home authorities.
Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the coalition, declined to identify the nationalities of the servicemen, or to specify where in Syria the attack took place Thursday night.
The casualties appeared to be the first to be killed or wounded in an attack this year on the coalition.
About 10 have been killed in non-combat-related incidents since Jan. 1, including seven in a helicopter crash, according to coalition statements and military sources.
The Associated Press cited a Syrian official as saying that the personnel had been killed in the northern city of Manbij, a former ISIS stronghold which has become a critical flash point between Turkey and Kurdish fighters in Syria, key allies of the United States.
The incident, which occurred Thursday night, underscored the risks facing coalition personnel across northern and central Syria as they transition from fighting ISIS to stabilizing areas that the militants left behind.
In a related matter, US President Donald Trump hinted on Thursday, in a surprise announcement, that the US troops would be withdrawing from Syria in the near future. “By the way, we’re knocking the hell out of ISIS,” Trump said midway through an infrastructure speech in Ohio.
“We’re coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now. Very soon — very soon we’re coming out.” No further details were immediately available.
