Three Americans – two service members and a civilian interpreter – were killed in an attack in Syria on a convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces believed to have been carried out by an Islamic State militant, according to the Pentagon.
Three other American soldiers were injured in the incident, according to a statement from Central Command, responsible for American forces in the Middle East. The attack, according to central command, occurred while forces were engaged in “activity with a key leader” in the central Syrian city of Palmyra. It was perpetrated by a militant who apparently acted alone.
“Friendly forces” killed the attacker, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. The Syrian agency SANA published that the wounded had been transferred by helicopter to an American base in the Al Tanf region, on the border with Iraq.
“If Americans are attacked anywhere in the world, they will spend the rest of their short, agonizing lives knowing that the United States will hunt them down, find them, and eliminate them mercilessly,” Hegseth wrote.
US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, named President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Syria, condemned the attack. “We regret the loss of three courageous men and wish a speedy recovery to the Syrian soldiers injured during the attack,” notes the diplomat. “We remain committed to the mission of defeating terrorism alongside our Syrian partners. »
The attack took place just a month after Syrian President Ahmed Al Shara visited Washington and received Trump at the White House, the first time a head of state from the Arab country was received by a US president. It was also the first time that an American president received a former jihadist leader for whose head he offered up to ten million dollars (nine million euros).
Following the visit, Damascus announced the signing of a political cooperation agreement to participate in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. Washington has deployed troops to northeast Syria for a decade, aiming to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and other radical groups and to support Kurdish strength in the region.
This coalition has carried out several air and ground operations to attack suspected positions of the radical Islamist group, sometimes with the participation of Syrian forces. On the eve of Al Shara’s visit to Washington, the Syrian Interior Ministry launched a campaign against the cells of this jihadist organization throughout the country and arrested more than 70 suspects.
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