US, British Soldiers Killed in Syria in 2018 Died of ‘Friendly Fire’

Officials initially blamed deaths on an IED

The March 2018 deaths of US Army Sgt. Jonathan Dunbar and British Sgt. Matt Tonroe in Syria were initially reported by US officials as a roadside bombing. Officials are now revising the story, confirming both were killed in a friendly fire incident.

It turns out that the two soldiers were killed in an “accidental detonation” when a bunch of explosives being carried around by another American soldiers blew up.

Exactly how that happened isn’t entirely clear, but the troops were operating near Manbij, in what was previously called a “capture or kill” mission, and the joint operation ended with a big explosion.

Britain’s Sgt. Tonroe was the only British soldier killed in active duty operations against ISIS. He was injured in the accidental explosion, and died later of his wounds, according to officials.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.