Caliphate has 'crumbled', ISIS 'defeated': US Vice President Pence

The ISIS has been "defeated" and the caliphate has "crumbled", US Vice President Mike Pence has said, following a fiery explosion in Syria in which two American service members were killed among others.

The vice president was speaking at a global summit of American envoys on Wednesday.

The ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion.

Two US service members -- one Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and one contractor supporting the DoD were killed -- and three service members injured while conducting a local engagement in Manbij, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

The blast occurred at a market in the northern Syria town of Manjib.

 

Initial reports indicate an explosion caused the casualties, and the incident is under investigation, it said.

We promised under this president's leadership to take the fight to radical Islamic terrorists on our terms on their soil. The president and I couldn't be more proud, Pence said in his address to the global chiefs of mission conference at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

Prior to Wednesday's attack, only two US service members had been killed in action in Syria since the start of the campaign in 2014.

Thanks to the leadership of this commander-in-chief and the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces, we're now actually able to begin to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria to our coalition partners and we are bringing our troops home. The caliphate has crumbled and ISIS has been defeated, he asserted.

Later in a statement, Pence condemned the terrorist attack in Syria that claimed American lives.

Thanks to the courage of our armed forces, "we have crushed the ISIS caliphate and devastated its capabilities, he said.

The vice president said, 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 reestablish their evil and murderous caliphate - not now, not ever."

In his address to the global chiefs of mission conference, Pence said the US will stay in the region and in the fight to ensure that the ISIS does not rear its ugly head again.

We will protect the gains that our soldiers and our coalition partners have secured. But this president has often spoken about his desire to bring an end to endless wars in America and the ability to bring our troops home, to bring them home in an orderly and effective way out of their current deployment in Syria remains a priority for this president, he said.