Dunbar, Jonathan Jay

Master Sergeant Jonathan Jay Dunbar was a 36-year-old soldier assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A native of Austin, Texas, he was deployed to Syria as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.

Dunbar died on March 30, 2018, from injuries sustained during an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Manbij, Syria. The U.S. Department of Defense stated he was conducting a patrol when the blast occurred. A British soldier, Sergeant Matt Tonroe of the British Army's Parachute Regiment, was also killed in the same incident.

Dunbar's death occurred during Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led military intervention launched in August 2014 to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. At the time, Manbij was a key area in northern Syria where coalition forces were supporting local partners to clear remaining militant pockets.

The Pentagon publicly announced Dunbar's death on April 2, 2018. His body was returned to the United States, and he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. His family requested privacy, and no public funeral details were widely reported.

Dunbar is memorialized on the website of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. His death, alongside that of Sergeant Tonroe, underscored the continued risks faced by coalition troops in Syria even as major territorial gains against the Islamic State had been made.

Jonathan Dunbar was killed during Operation Inherent Resolve (ongoing since August 2014). See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Villotcarrasco, Yeshabel, Spears, Jordan Lee, Walker, Jonathan Doyle, Neal, Sean Patrick.

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