Pence Says Daesh Defeated as Group Claims Credit for Killing US Troops in Manbij

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Daesh* has been defeated and its Caliphate has crumbled, Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday, the same day several US service members were killed in a Syria attack the terror group claimed credit for.

"The Caliphate has crumbled and ISIS [Daesh] has been defeated," Pence said in his speech to the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference at the US State Department. "We’re now able to hand off the fight against ISIS to our coalition partners."

Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve announced in a Twitter message that several US service members had been among the 16 people killed in a bomb attack in the northern Syrian town of Manjib. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Operation Inherent Resolve said in the message that US service members were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria, adding that they are gathering information and will share additional details about the attack at a later time.

READ MORE: Erdogan: Terror Attack in Manbij, Syria May Be Aimed to Influence US Withdrawal

The attack was made in wake of the recent President Donald Trump's order to withdraw 2,000 US troops from Syria.

Over the past four and a half years, only two US service members had previously been killed in action in Syria since the start of the current campaign against Daesh there in 2014. The coalition's military operation in Syria has been approved neither by Damascus nor by the UN.

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*Daesh, also known as IS (Islamic State), ISIS, ISIL — a terrorist group, banned in numerous countries, including Russia