All 4 Americans killed in Syria bombing ID’d
A Green Beret, a Navy linguist, a former Navy SEAL and a Syrian emigre were the Americans killed in this week’s suicide bombing in Syria, the Defense Department and a defense contractor said Friday.
The Pentagon named the three current and former service members killed in Wednesday’s attack as Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Farmer 37, of Boynton Beach, Fla.; Shannon Kent, 35, of Pine Plains, N.Y.; and a civilian, Scott Wirtz, of St. Louis, a former Navy SEAL working for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The department did not identify the fourth American killed, a civilian contractor who officials said served as an interpreter. A spokesman for defense contractor Valiant Integrated Services said an employee, Ghadir Taher, was killed in the attack.
The four were killed — and three other Americans wounded — when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest in front of a restaurant in the northern Syrian city of Manbij as they were meeting with local military officials. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
It was the largest loss of life in the Pentagon’s war against Islamic State militants in Syria and a sign of the potent threat that the group still poses as the Trump administration begins to withdraw U.S. forces from the country.
The Pentagon said the Americans were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
It said Farmer was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Campbell, Ky., Kent was assigned to Cryptologic Warfare Activity 66, at Fort Meade, Md., and Wirtz was an operations support specialist.
Kent enlisted in the Navy in 2003 and served in assignments at Fort Gordon, Ga., Norfolk, Va., and Washington, in addition to Fort Meade, the Navy said.
“She was a rock star, an outstanding chief petty officer, and leader to many in the Navy Information Warfare Community,” said Cmdr. Joseph Harrison, the head of her unit at Fort Meade.
Farmer, a married father of four, joined the Army in March 2005, officials said. He served on four overseas combat tours: Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007 and 2009, Operation New Dawn in 2010, Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012 and Operation Inherent Resolve — his final mission — in 2018 and 2019.
He was trained in Fort Benning and attended the Special Forces Qualification Course. Farmer graduated in 2007 as a Special Forces engineer sergeant and was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, where he spent the rest of his career.
During his years of service, Farmer received numerous awards and decorations, including a Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.
Wirtz served as a Navy SEAL for 10 years before joining the Defense Intelligence Agency in February 2017, a DIA spokeswoman said. The DIA said he completed three deployments for the agency in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump’s surprise Dec. 19 announcement that the Islamic State had been defeated and U.S. troops would be coming home drew widespread criticism, including from GOP allies who warned that a premature departure could allow militants to return.
After announcing his intention to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, Trump also ordered the pullout of nearly half of the more than 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.
The move overrode warnings from senior advisers and military officials that such a withdrawal would plunge Afghanistan further into chaos.
In a separate announcement Friday, the Army’s Special Operations Command said an Army Ranger, Sgt. Cameron Meddock, 26, of Spearman, Texas, died Thursday of wounds he received in combat operations Jan. 12 in Badghis province, Afghanistan. Associated Press contributed.