Khaberni - President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that there would be a "severe retaliatory reaction" after an Islamic State militant in Syria killed two US Army soldiers and an American interpreter in an ambush attack.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell earlier announced that the soldiers and the interpreter were targeted in the city of Palmyra in central Syria in an attack that injured three others. The US Central Command stated that the dead and wounded were "the result of an ambush set up by an ISIS militant in Syria".
"We mourn the loss of three great American patriots in Syria, two soldiers and a civilian interpreter. We also pray for a swift recovery for the three injured soldiers, who have been confirmed safe. This was an attack carried out by ISIS on the United States and Syria, in a very dangerous area of Syria, not under their full control," Trump wrote on "Truth Social".
He added: "Syria's President, Ahmad Al-Shar', is very angry and upset about this attack. There will be a severe reaction."
In remarks to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump also said: "This was an attack by ISIS on us and on Syria. Once again, we express our sorrow for the loss and pray for them and their parents and loved ones."
Parnell wrote on X that the attack occurred while the soldiers "were holding a meeting with a key leader".
He added, saying: "Their mission was to support ongoing operations to combat ISIS/counterterrorism in the region, noting that "the names of the soldiers, as well as identifying information about their units, will be withheld for 24 hours after notifying next of kin."
War Minister Pete Hegseth said: "The savage who committed this attack was killed by partner forces."
"Let everyone know, if you target Americans - anywhere in the world - you will spend the rest of your short, anxious life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you mercilessly," Hegseth also said in a post on X.
Parnell said the attack is currently under investigation. A Pentagon official told Fox News Digital that the attack took place in an area not under the control of Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar'
A Pentagon official told Fox News Digital that the attack on the soldiers on Saturday, December 13, 2025, took place in an area outside the control of Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar'
Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll wrote on X: "I pray for the brave American soldiers and civilians who lost their lives, and for those injured in this attack, and for their families who are suffering from this severe loss. The men and women who serve our country represent the best of our nation. We mourn the departure of these heroes and honor their service and sacrifices."
A senior US official previously told Fox News that multiple injuries occurred after American soldiers were ambushed in Syria.
"Reports indicate that the United States and the Central Intelligence Agency and the military forces are heavily involved in securing the situation in Syria and stabilizing it," Dan Deker, director of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, recently told Fox News Digital.
The Associated Press, citing official Syrian media, reported that those injured in the attack on Saturday were transported by helicopters to the Tanf garrison, near the borders with Iraq and Jordan.
The Israeli authorities issued a severe warning after the return of the terrifying Syrian military chants.
There are currently about 900 US soldiers in Syria.
The United States had eight bases in Syria to monitor ISIS since the US military entered to prevent the terrorist group from establishing a caliphate in 2014, although three of those bases have been closed or handed over to the Syrian Democratic Forces.
On Monday, tens of thousands of Syrians took to the streets of Damascus to celebrate the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime.
These celebrations came a year after the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the capital, as opposition forces swept the country in a swift attack that ended five decades of Assad family rule and opened a new chapter in Syrian history.
