A suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State militants killed at least 16 people, including two US service members and two American civilians, in northern Syria on Wednesday, just a month after President Donald Trump declared that IS had been defeated and he was pulling out US forces.
The attack in the strategic northeastern town of Manbij highlighted the threat posed by the Islamic State group despite Trump's claims.
It could also complicate what had already become a messy withdrawal plan, with the president's senior advisers disagreeing with the decision and then offering an evolving timetable for the removal of the approximately 2,000 US troops.
The attack, which also wounded three U.S. troops, was the deadliest assault on US troops in Syria since American forces went into the country in 2015.
The dead included a number of fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces, who have fought alongside the Americans against the Islamic State group, according to officials and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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According to a US official, one of the US civilians killed was an intelligence specialist working for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The other was an interpreter, who was a contractor.
The attack prompted new complaints about the withdrawal and underscored Pentagon assertions that IS is still a threat and capable of deadly attacks.
In a December 19 tweet announcing the withdrawal, Trump said, "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency."
He said the troops would begin coming home "now." That plan triggered immediate pushback from military leaders, including the resignation of the defense secretary.
Over the past month, however, Trump and others have appeared to adjust the timeline, and US officials have suggested it will likely take several months to safely withdraw American forces from Syria.
Not long after the attack Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence repeated claims of the Islamic State group's defeat. Speaking at the State Department, Pence said the "caliphate has crumbled" and the militant network "has been defeated." Later in the day he released a statement condemning the attack but affirming the withdrawal plan.
"As we begin to bring our troops home, the American people can be assured, for the sake of our soldiers, their families, and our nation, we will never allow the remnants of ISIS to re-establish their evil and murderous caliphate - not now, not ever," he said.
Others, however, immediately pointed to the attack as a reason to reverse or adjust the withdrawal plan.
Sen Lindsey Graham, a Trump backer and prominent voice on foreign affairs on Capitol Hill, said during a committee hearing Wednesday he is concerned that Trump's withdrawal announcement had emboldened Islamic State militants and created dangerous uncertainty for American allies.
"I know people are frustrated, but we're never going to be safe here unless we are willing to help people over there who will stand up against this radical ideology," he said.
Rep Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich, said the attack demonstrates the lethal capability of IS and "the fact that it happened in Manbij, probably the single most complicated area of Syria, demonstrates that the president clearly doesn't understand the complexity of the problem."
Manbij is the main town on the westernmost edge of Syrian territory held by the US-backed Syrian Kurds, running along the border with Turkey. Mixed Kurdish-Arab Syrian forces liberated Manbij from IS in 2016 with help from the US-led coalition.
But Kurdish control of the town infuriated Turkey, which views the main US Kurdish ally, the YPG militia, as "terrorists" linked to Kurdish insurgents on its own soil.
The town has been at the center of tensions in northern Syria, with the militaries of two NATO members, the US and Turkey, on opposing sides. The two sides began joint patrols around Manbij in November as part of an agreement aimed at easing tensions.
Slotkin, a former senior Pentagon adviser on Syria and other international issues, said it's time for Trump to amend or change his withdrawal order to "something more consistent with the threat" in Syria.
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