Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar’s body arrived at the Moore County Airport this morning. Dunbar (36) was killed in Syria in March by a roadside bomb.
After arriving at the airport, Dunbar’s body was escorted by the Southern Pines Police Department, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and the Patriot Guard Motorcycle Organization to Boles Funeral Home in Southern Pines.
Dunbar was assigned to the headquarters of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg.
Dunbar died as result of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol in Manbij — not far from the border with Turkey — during an operation against the Islamic State group, officials said.
A British armed forces member also was killed and five other people were wounded in last month’s bombing— a rare attack since the U.S.-led coalition sent troops into the country.
Photo courtesy of Southern Pines Police Department
Dunbar is the fourth American service member to die in Syria since the U.S. began attacking Islamic State group militants there in September 2014, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System.
The others were Air Force Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren, whose death was specifically labeled by the Pentagon as noncombat related; Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton, who was killed by an improved explosive device; and Army Spc. Etienne J. Murphy, who died in a vehicle rollover.
Feature photo: Courtesy of Southern Pines Police Department
This article was written with the help of the Associated Press
Copyright 2018, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
