US, UK release identities of soldiers killed in Manbij attack

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Defense officials from the United States and the United Kingdom on Saturday revealed the identities of the two soldiers who had died earlier this week in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in the Manbij region of Syria.

The two troops identified were US Army Master Sgt. Johnathan Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, and British soldier Sgt. Matt Tonroe, 33, from Manchester.

The IED attack, blamed on the Islamic State (IS) who the US-led coalition is fighting in Syria, occurred on Thursday and injured five others. Tonroe died immediately after the explosion while Dunbar died from his wounds a day later.

According to the UK Ministry of Defense, the 33-year-old British soldier was embedded with US forces as part of an anti-IS operation in the Manbij region.

The coalition has not released any further details regarding the incident and said an investigation is underway.

The US has about 2,000 soldiers in Syria who support local allies fighting IS, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) make up the majority.

Dunbar first entered the US Army in 2005 and was later assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, at Fort Bragg before being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tonroe, meanwhile, was part of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and had previously served in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said the British soldier’s sacrifices, as well as his “unflinching commitment and bravery, [would] never be forgotten.”