Overview
- Two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter were killed and three service members were wounded during a counter-ISIS mission near Palmyra, according to CENTCOM and the Pentagon.
- Officials said a single gunman carried out the ambush and was neutralized by partner forces, and the identities of the dead are being withheld pending family notification.
- The attack occurred during a joint engagement with local counterparts, with casualties evacuated by helicopter to the Al-Tanf garrison; local media reported U.S. aircraft overhead and several arrests after the incident.
- Syrian state outlets and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights offered a conflicting account suggesting the assailant had ties to Syrian security services, and a Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson said prior warnings were shared with the coalition.
- President Donald Trump promised a "very serious" response, and officials noted this is the first fatal U.S. incident in Syria reported since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last year.