Pence Claims Islamic State Defeated As Group Claims Credit For Killing US Troops In Attack

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2019) The Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) 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 [Islamic State] 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.

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 the Islamic State there in 2014. President Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 US troops from Syria.