In Palmyra, Syria, three Americans—two U.S. service members and a civilian translator—were killed in an attack by the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS), and three others were wounded, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said. He уточнил that the attack occurred during a mission conducted as part of operations to counter ISIS and terrorism in the region. An investigation is underway.
The Americans were killed on December 13 in an ambush carried out by a lone ISIS attacker, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) added. The assailant was killed by allied forces during a firefight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “Make no mistake: if you attack Americans—anywhere in the world—you will spend the rest of your short and anxious life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you without mercy,” he emphasized. U.S. President Donald Trump promised ISIS “severe retribution,” adding that the attack took place “in a very dangerous area” not fully controlled by the new authorities, and that “Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is extremely outraged and concerned by this attack.”
The ambusher was a member of Syria’s security forces, three local officials told Reuters. A spokesperson for the Syrian Interior Ministry said the attacker did not hold a senior position and may have “held extremist views.”
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the republic “strongly condemns the terrorist attack targeting a joint Syrian–American counterterrorism patrol in the Palmyra area.” He also expressed condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the U.S. government and people.
