Episode Notes:

On Wednesday, ISIL claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Manbij that killed four Americans and 15 civilians. The attack occurred two weeks after the US declared its plans to withdraw from Syria.

Nicholas Heras, Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and Senior Analyst at the Jamestown Foundation, joins the WarCast to discuss the situation emerging situation, post-withdrawal announcement.

[ 0:17 ] Introduction [ 0:41 ] Manbij: Significance of the location [ 2:39 ] Degree of relationship to U.S. withdrawal announcement [ 4:50 ] Assessing whether ISIL is defeated [ 6:40 ] Relationship with intensifying US bombing campaign [ 9:01 ] ISIL's goals during U.S. withdrawal