U.S. service members killed in Syria explosion

The U.S. military says American service members have been killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria.     

The military said in a tweet about Wednesday’s blast in the northern Syrian town of Manbij: “We are still gathering information and will share additional details at a later time.”     

A Syrian war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported earlier that at least two U.S. soldiers were killed in the suicide attack outside a restaurant in Manbij.     

The Kurdish Hawar news agency, based in northern Syria, said three Americans were killed.     

The blast killed a total of 16 people including nine civilians according to the Observatory.