President Donald Trump vowed “very serious retaliation” following an ambush in central Syria that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. service members and one American civilian interpreter on Saturday. The United States is blaming the attack on the Islamic State (IS) group.
The incident is the first with fatalities targeting U.S. troops in Syria since the fall of President Bashar Assad a year ago.
Details of the Attack and Casualties
- Victims: Two U.S. service members (identified as members of the Iowa National Guard) and one U.S. civilian interpreter were killed.
- Wounded: Three U.S. service members were also wounded but are reported to be “doing pretty well.” Members of Syria’s security forces were also wounded.
- Location: The ambush by a lone gunman linked to IS occurred near the gate of a military post in central Syria, near historic Palmyra. The casualties were evacuated to the al-Tanf garrison.
- Attacker: U.S. Central Command confirmed the gunman was killed. Syrian officials later suggested the attacker was a member of the Internal Security force in the desert who may have held an extreme ideology.
U.S. and Syrian Reaction
President Trump took to his Truth Social platform to express his anger and stress that the attack targeted U.S. forces operating in a “very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled” by the U.S. He also stated that Syria’s President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was “devastated by what happened” and “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack,” stressing that Syria was fighting alongside U.S. troops.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a stern warning on X: “Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.”
Context of U.S.-Syria Relations
The attack comes amid rapidly changing diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Syria following the fall of the Assad regime:
- Deployment: The U.S. maintains hundreds of troops in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.
- New Relationship: The U.S. had previously lacked diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad. However, President al-Sharaa, who led the rebel forces that toppled Assad, made a historic visit to the White House last month after the U.S. lifted sanctions.
- Anti-IS Coalition: Syria recently joined the international coalition fighting against IS. The current attack targeted soldiers involved in these ongoing counter-terrorism operations.