MoD confirms death of individual who was embedded with US forces fighting Islamic State

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A British soldier fighting against Islamic State has died in an explosion in Syria, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The individual, who was embedded with US forces, was killed on Thursday night alongside an American soldier.

Five others were wounded in the roadside bomb blast in Manbij, northern Syria, near the Turkish border. No further details about the victims have yet been released.

A spokesperson for the MoD said: “It is with regret that we must confirm that a member of the UK armed forces was killed by an improvised explosive device in Syria yesterday.

“The individual was embedded with US forces on a counter-Daesh [Isis] operation when the incident occurred. The family has been notified and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

“We cannot confirm any further details at this stage.”

A spokesman for the US military said they were working to investigate who was behind the attack.

The explosion is said to have taken place just hundreds of metres from security headquarters which house the US-backed Manbij military council, said council head Mohammed Abu Adel.

The Syrian town, which was under Isis control until 2016, is under increasing threat from Turkey after its military forces launched an attack on the nearby city of Afrin in January.

Turkey said the campaign was launched to clear out Kurdish militias in the northern Syrian district.

The latest deaths come on the same day that the US president, Donald Trump, announced American troops would leave Syria soon, during a speech in Ohio.

About 2,000 US troops are in Syria and have fought to liberate the former Isis stronghold since September 2014. Four American soldiers have been killed in total, according to the Pentagon.