Explosion in Syria Kills Driver for NBC News Team

DOHUK, Iraq — A local driver working with a team of journalists from NBC News was killed in an explosion in eastern Syria, the news network’s president said in a statement.

The president, Noah Oppenheim, said “a device” had exploded near the group on Saturday, killing the driver but not harming the rest of the team.

“We are still gathering information from today’s events, and are in touch with the driver’s family to support them however we can,” Mr. Oppenheim said.

The explosion happened a number of hours after the United States-backed militia fighting the Islamic State in Syria announced the end of the jihadists’ control of any territory in Iraq and Syria.

The destruction of the jihadists’ so-called caliphate, which was once as large as the United Kingdom and ruled over millions of people, marked a major milestone in the battle against the terrorist organization.

But American officials and Syrian fighters have warned that the group is not defeated, but has returned to its insurgent roots and continues to stage deadly attacks.

NBC had been among the dozens of news outlets reporting on the battle to push the Islamic State out of its last patch of territory, near the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria.

After the announcement of the end of the caliphate, the NBC correspondent Matt Bradley walked through the destroyed village of Baghouz, talking about how many of the Islamic State’s adherents remained committed to its ideology.

“While the caliphate may be dead, Islamic State as we know it may still be alive,” he said.

The explosion that killed the NBC team’s driver occurred after that report, but it was not immediately clear whether the group had been targeted. A United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has heavily bombed the area, raising concerns about unexploded ordinance that may remain.