Three Americans Killed in Syria by Suspected Islamic State Assailant, US Defense Department Reports
A deadly ambush in the heart of Syria on Saturday morning led to the deaths of two US army soldiers and a US civilian translator, with a number of others injured, according to the Pentagon.
This offensive on American forces in the ancient city of Tadmur marks the initial event to cause fatalities following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad approximately a year ago.
"This assault occurred as the soldiers were conducting a high-level meeting," a Pentagon spokesperson said. "Their mission was in support of ongoing counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the area."
The attacker behind the gunfire was killed by allied troops, as confirmed by a statement from the Secretary of Defense.
Details Kept Private For Privacy
US CENTCOM noted that, to respect the privacy for the loved ones and in accordance with policy, the names of the deceased personnel will not be released until 24 hours after their families have been informed.
Initial accounts from local news agencies and a war monitor said that shots rang out during a tour by American troops to the area of Tadmur.
Conflicting Accounts Emerge
Per a state-run news agency, a pair of local security forces and a number of US service members were wounded in the exchange. Those hurt were reportedly transported by helicopters to a garrison near the border with Iraq and Jordan.
An official for Syria's interior ministry said a shooter affiliated with ISIS began shooting at the gate of a army position. Authorities are looking into whether the assailant was a formal member of the group or merely adhered to its extreme ideology.
This spokesperson further refuted a report from a UK-based monitoring group that the attacker was a security member.
Ongoing US Presence in Syria
The United States currently has hundreds of troops stationed in Syria's east as part of a broader coalition fighting the ISIS militant group.
Despite being declared defeated in the country in 2019, the organization's sleeper cells still execute lethal strikes. UN assessments indicate the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
American forces have been targeted in the past. One of the deadliest previous attacks took place in 2019 in the north, when an blast claimed the lives of two US service members and two American civilians, among additional casualties.
