A lone Islamic State (ISIS) gunman carried out a deadly ambush on Saturday, killing two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter while injuring three additional U.S. troops, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.
The attack targeted a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol in central Syria near the historic city of Palmyra.
According to CENTCOM, the assailant opened fire during what the Pentagon termed a “key leader engagement” in support of counter-terrorism operations. Partner forces “engaged and killed” the gunman at the scene. The identities of the deceased service members are being withheld pending notification of their families.
The incident marks a significant and rare fatal attack on U.S. personnel in Syria and is the first of its kind reported since the Islamist-led overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last December, a shift that rekindled Damascus’s ties with Washington.
Conflicting accounts emerged regarding the precise circumstances. A Syrian military official, speaking anonymously, stated the shooting occurred “during a meeting between Syrian and American officers” at a Syrian base in Palmyra. Conversely, a Pentagon official, also anonymously, contended the attack happened “in an area where the Syrian President does not have control.”
Syrian state media, quoting a security source, had initially reported that several U.S. and two Syrian service members were wounded. Following the U.S. confirmation, Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesman, Anwar al-Baba, claimed on state television that there had been prior warnings to allied forces of a potential ISIS “infiltration,” which he said were not taken into consideration.
The wounded were evacuated by helicopter to the U.S. garrison at Al-Tanf near the Jordanian border, according to Syria’s SANA news agency.
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