- Convoy attacked during a confrontation with a key leader.
- Three US soldiers injured in attack: Centcom.
- The US ambassador in Turkiye condemns the attack.
Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday by a suspected Daesh attacker who attacked a convoy of US and Syrian forces, the US military said.
The attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces, three local officials told Reuters. A Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman told a state television channel that the man did not have a leading role in the security forces.
“On December 10, an assessment was issued indicating that this attacker could have extremist ideas, and a decision on him would be issued tomorrow, Sunday,” spokesman Noureddine el-Baba told Syrian television channel Al-Ikhbariya.
Central Command says attacker was killed
Three U.S. soldiers were also wounded in the attack, the U.S. military's Central Command said.
In a statement, Central Command said the attack by a lone gunman occurred “as soldiers were carrying out a confrontation with a key leader” in the central Syrian city of Palmyra. “Associated forces” killed the attacker, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post.
A senior US official said initial assessments indicated Daesh likely carried out the attack, although the militant group did not immediately claim responsibility.
It took place in an area not controlled by the Syrian government, the official said.
Baba said Syria had warned of the possibility of a Daesh attack in that region but that “coalition forces did not take Syrian warnings… into account.”
He said Syria would determine whether the attacker was linked to Daesh or simply subscribed to the group's ideology.
Soldiers' names will be withheld until 24 hours after next of kin are notified, the US military said.
Trump vows to “retaliate”
President Donald Trump said the United States would retaliate after a suspected Daesh militant killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in central Syria.
“We will retaliate,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, adding shortly after on his Truth Social platform that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.”
US envoy condemns attack
Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a security source as saying that two Syrian service personnel were wounded, without providing further details. The source told SANA that US helicopters evacuated the wounded to a US base in Syria's Al-Tanf region, near the Iraqi border.
Tom Barrack, US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria, condemned the attack.
“We mourn the loss of three brave American military and civilian personnel and wish a speedy recovery to the Syrian troops injured in the attack,” Barrack said in a statement. “We remain committed to defeating terrorism with our Syrian partners.”
The attack came just a month after Syria announced it had signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition against Daesh, which coincided with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to the White House.
The coalition has carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria against Daesh suspects in recent months, often involving Syrian security forces. Last month, Syria also carried out a nationwide campaign arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.
The United States has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to assist a Kurdish-led force there.
