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Two US army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in Syria on Saturday by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead.
The attack was barely a month after Syria announced it had signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition against Islamic State, which coincided with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House.
The attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces, three local officials told Reuters news agency. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson told a state-run television channel that the man did not have a leadership role in the security forces.
“On December 10, an evaluation was issued indicating that this attacker might hold extremist ideas, and a decision regarding him was due to be issued tomorrow, on Sunday,” the spokesperson, Noureddine el-Baba, told Syrian television channel Al-Ikhbariya.
President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to express his determination for “very serious retaliation” following the death of “three great patriots.” Speaking to reporters, he condemned the event as a “terrible” attack.
Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack, the US military’s central command said.
In a statement, central command said the attack by a lone gunman occurred “as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement” in the central Syrian town of Palmyra. “Partner forces” killed the attacker, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post.
A senior U.S. official suggested that preliminary evaluations pointed to the Islamic State as the likely perpetrators, although the group has yet to officially claim responsibility.
It took place in an area not controlled by the Syrian government, the official said.
The US-led coalition has carried out air strikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Islamic State suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces. Syria last month also carried out a nationwide campaign arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.
