Two U.S. troopers and one civilian U.S. interpreter have been killed in Syria on Saturday after they have been ambushed by a probable ISIS gunman, U.S. officers mentioned.
The gunman was killed by “accomplice forces” throughout a skirmish, in response to Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth.
On this Jan. 9, 2025, file photograph, US forces patrol in Syria’s northeastern metropolis Qamishli, within the Hasakeh province.
Delil Souleiman/AFP through Getty Pictures, FILE
Three different service members have been injured through the incident in Palmyra, Syria, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell mentioned in an announcement. Two U.S. officers instructed ABC Information the wounded have been American.
“The assault occurred because the troopers have been conducting a key chief engagement. Their mission was in assist of on-going counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations within the area,” Parnell mentioned in an announcement.
This marked the primary fight deaths since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Workplace.
Trump took to social media Saturday to precise his condolences for the fallen troopers, and condemn the assault.
“The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extraordinarily offended and disturbed by this assault. There can be very severe retaliation. Thanks to your consideration to this matter!” he mentioned within the submit.
Trump claimed the incident was an “ISIS assault in opposition to the U.S., and Syria, in a really harmful a part of Syria, that isn’t absolutely managed by them.”
President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs from the South Garden of the White Home, Dec. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C., en path to Baltimore to attend the Military-Navy soccer recreation.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
The president echoed his statements with temporary remarks to the press Saturday, reiterating as he walked away from reporters, “We are going to retaliate.”
The identities of the troopers weren’t instantly revealed as a consequence of ongoing next-of-kin notifications, officers mentioned.
On this Jan. 9, 2025,, file photograph, a US soldier holds a canine as forces patrol in Syria’s northeastern metropolis Qamishli, within the Hasakeh province.
Delil Souleiman/AFP through Getty Pictures, FILE
The three American fatalities in right this moment’s assault in Syria are the primary fight deaths in that nation since 2019 when 4 People have been killed in a suicide bomb assault in Manbij, Syria.
Previous to Saturday, there had been 10 U.S. army deaths in Syria, together with a mixture of hostile and non-hostile deaths. The latest U.S. army demise in Syria was a non-hostile demise in February 2022.
-ABC Information’ Selina Wang and Emily Chang contributed to this report.
