In a tragic incident in central Syria, two American service members and a civilian lost their lives in an ambush carried out by an individual associated with the Islamic State group, according to a statement from the U.S. military’s Central Command. The attack, which also left three others injured, unfolded on Saturday.

This ambush marks the first casualty-inducing attack on U.S. forces in Syria since the fall of President Bashar Assad last year.

Central Command noted on X that, following Department of Defense policy, the names of the deceased service members will not be disclosed until 24 hours after their families have been informed.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to X to issue a stern warning, stating, “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.”

The attack occurred near the ancient city of Palmyra, as reported by the state-run SANA news agency. Initially, SANA mentioned that two Syrian security personnel and several American service members were wounded. The injured were airlifted to the al-Tanf garrison, located near the borders of Iraq and Jordan.

SANA said the attacker was killed, without providing further details.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security force.

The U.S. has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

Last month, Syria joined the international coalition fighting against the IS as Damascus improves its relations with Western countries following the ouster of Assad when insurgents captured his seat of power in Damascus.

The U.S. had no diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have warmed since the fall of the five-decade Assad family rule. The interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, made a historic visit to Washington last month where he held talks with President Donald Trump.

IS was defeated on the battlefield in Syria in 2019 but the group’s sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in the country. The United Nations says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

U.S. troops, which have maintained a presence in different parts of Syria – including Al-Tanf garrison in the central province of Homs – to train other forces as part of a broad campaign against IS, have been targeted in the past. One of the deadliest attacks occurred in 2019 in the northern town of Manbij when a blast killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians as well as others from Syria while conducting a patrol.

Mroue reported from Beirut.