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“This was an Islamic State attack on the United States and Syria, in a very dangerous Syrian region,” he wrote in Truth Social. “There will be very serious retaliation.”
The soldiers were supporting counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State group in Palmyra, a city in central Syria, when they were shot and killed by a lone gunman, according to U.S. officials. Syrian security forces then killed the shooter, U.S. and Syrian officials said.
Three U.S. service members and two members of the Syrian security forces were also injured in the attack, according to U.S. officials and Syrian state media. After the attack, US helicopters were sent to evacuate the wounded to the US base at al-Tanf in southeastern Syria, Syrian state media reported.
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Although the U.S. military contingent in the Middle East is a fraction of what it once was, the attack was a stark reminder of the danger in the region and the dilemma of whether or not to keep U.S. forces there.
The report also highlights the challenges facing the newly formed Syrian government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in leading a deeply fragmented country emerging from nearly 14 years of civil war.
Since its rebel coalition toppled Assad’s government, al-Sharaa has had to deal with threats from the Islamic State and several other armed groups, while building a new national army.
The attack also comes months after the United States began reducing its military presence in Syria, from about 2,000 U.S. troops at the start of the year to about 1,000 currently, according to a Pentagon official.
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It is not yet clear whether the deadly attack on American soldiers this Saturday will affect this strategy.
The decision to reduce troops reflects the changing security landscape in Syria following the collapse of Assad’s government. Although Islamic State cells have continued to carry out attacks in Syria, Assad’s departure has lessened the threats posed by Iranian-backed militias and the Russian troops that support him.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly condemned the attack, writing in an article about
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, although initial assessments suggest it was likely carried out by the Islamic State, according to a Pentagon official.
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A spokesman for the Syrian Interior Ministry, Noureddine al-Baba, said in a statement that the Syrian government had warned its American counterparts of the possibility of Islamic State attacks against its forces. “International coalition forces failed to heed Syrian warnings about the possibility of an Islamic State incursion,” al-Baba said.
Since 2014, American forces have been deployed in Syria in several American bases. For years, its main goals have been fighting the Islamic State, protecting strategic areas such as oil fields and containing Iranian influence.
U.S. forces have also partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia that controls much of the country’s northeast, to provide training and equipment and maintain pressure on Islamic State. The group took control of Palmyra in 2015, destroying priceless archaeological sites and carrying out brutal attacks against civilians and military personnel.
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After heavy defeats in 2017, the Islamic State’s capabilities in Syria have been significantly reduced. The remnants of the group remained at large in the remote desert of eastern Syria. But the group has continued to carry out small-scale attacks since Assad’s departure, mainly targeting al-Sharaa government soldiers.
Concerns are also growing that the group could release thousands of its most radical activists from prison, which could further destabilize the region.
Last month, after meeting with Trump at the White House, al-Sharaa signed a declaration of political cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria. The move reflects both al-Sharaa’s desire to establish stronger ties with the United States and the instability his country continues to face as it confronts sectarian violence, deep humanitarian crises and the challenge of rebuilding its military and security forces.
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