DAMASCUS. – More than a year after the departure of dictator Bashar Al-Assad and the takeover of former jihadist leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, The attacks by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria continue. This Saturday, Two American soldiers and a civilian were killed in a “sniper ambush” by the extremist groupThe US military command for the Middle East, US Central Command (Centcom), announced this in a statement.
Three other US soldiers were injured in that attack, Centcom said, adding The shooter was killed.
The Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnellindicated in X that the deceased was a civilian an American interpreter.
The President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to the attack and warned against it in his report “There will be severe retaliation.” He also stressed that the Syrian president, whom he met in Washington last November, was “Extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.”
According to the official Syrian agency Sana, the shots were aimed at the delegation during a visit to the desert region of Palmyrain Syria.
The American contingent was in Palmyra for a time, as Parnell confirmed “Mission to support ongoing counter-terrorism operations against ISIS in the region”for which around 2,000 North American troops are stationed in the region.
Damascus”Strongly condemns the terrorist attack against a joint Syrian-American counterterrorism patrol near Palmyra” wrote Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al Shaibani in
This was stated by the Syrian Interior Ministry had warned the US-led coalition of a possible invasion by IS fighters.
“There were previous warnings from the Internal Security Command to allied forces in the desert region,” ministry spokesman Anwar al-Baba said in an interview on state television. But “International coalition forces ignored Syrian warnings about possible infiltration of IS,” he added.
Last month, Syria joined the international coalition fighting Islamic State, while Damascus is improving ties with Western countries following the overthrow of Assad last year, when insurgents seized his seat of power in Damascus.
The United States did not have diplomatic relations with Syria during the Al-Assad government. But since the fall of this dynasty’s five-decade regime, relations have grown closer. In fact, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa made a historic visit to Washington last month, where he met with President Trump.
The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth described the perpetrator of the attack as “wild” and issued a warning: “If you target Americans – anywhere in the world – They will live the rest of their short, stressful lives knowing that the United States will hunt them down, find them, and kill them mercilessly.“.
The identities of the dead soldiers and the units they belonged to will not be revealed for 24 hours until their families are informed, Sean Parnell said.
“The attack is currently under investigation,” he added.
Is It is the first time an event of this kind has been reported in Syria since the takeover. a year ago by an Islamist coalition that has drawn closer ties to the USA.
The Sana agency had previously stated that “several members of the US armed forces and two members of the Syrian security forces” were injured while carrying out a “joint patrol”.
The Islamic State jihadist group controlled the Palmyra region before being defeated by an international coalition in Syria in 2019..
Despite their defeat, their fighters, sheltering in the vast Syrian desert, continue to carry out sporadic attacks. That’s what the United Nations says The group currently has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. troops present in various parts of Syria, including Al-Tanf Garrison in the central province of Homs, to train other forces as part of a broader campaign against ISIS, They have been targeted by the jihadist group in the past.
One of the deadliest attacks occurred in the northern city of Manbij in 2019 An explosion killed two soldiers and two civilians, all Americansand other people from Syria as they conducted patrol operations.
AP and AFP agencies
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