IS claims bomb attack targeting US-backed force in Syria

BEIRUT – A spokesman for a U.S.-backed force in Syria says a suicide bomber from the Islamic State extremist group detonated his explosives on a road in northern Syria, targeting a joint convoy belonging to the force and the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition.

Mustafa Bali is a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. He says Monday’s attack near the town of Shaddadeh caused material damage but no casualties. IS claimed responsibility in a statement and said the blast killed or wounded eight people in the convoy.

There was no immediate comment by the U.S. military or anti-IS coalition.

Bali tweeted that the attack was an attempt by IS to disrupt the campaign to root out IS sleeper cells that are staging attacks in Syria despite their group’s territorial defeat earlier this year.