Two US soldiers killed by ISIS gunman in Syria, Trump vows ‘serious retaliation’
The US Central Command in a post on X said the incident was an “ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria”, adding that the gunman was “engaged and killed.”
Two American soldiers were killed Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State (IS) group opened fire on a US-Syrian joint patrol, AFP cited officials as saying. A civilian interpreter was also killed in the attack, officials said.
The US Central Command in a post on X said the incident was an “ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria”, adding that the gunman was “engaged and killed.”
Following the incident, United States President Donald Trump vowed retaliation, while mourning the loss of the soldiers and the interpreter.
“We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria, two soldiers, and one Civilian Interpreter,” Trump said. “There will be very serious retaliation,” the US President warned.
Trump said that the incident was an “ISIS attack against US and Syria”, adding that it took place “in a very dangerous part of Syria” not fully under the control of the State.
The attack took place in Palmyra, where the UNESCO-listed ancient ruins are located, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. The area was under the control of ISIS at the height of its territorial expansion in Syria, according to the AFP report.
“The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, and confirmed that three US soldiers who had been injured in the gunfire were “doing well”.
When the attack took place, the soldiers were “conducting a key leader engagement” in support of counter-terrorism operations, AFP quoted Parnell as saying.
The US Central Command said the identities of the deceased soldiers will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified, in accordance with the US Department of War policy.
The attack is the first of its kind since the ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year by Islamist forces, and rekindling of Syria's ties with the US, AFP reported.
