A “lone ISIS gunman,” who ambushed and shot and killed two U.S. service members and a civilian in Syria, was “engaged and killed” on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said.
Per Pentagon policy and as a “matter of respect for the families,” the department said it will withhold the names of the service members for 24 hours and until after their relatives have been informed.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the nation mourns “the loss of three great American patriots in Syria, two soldiers and one civilian interpreter.” He added that “we pray for the three injured soldiers,” who he said are “doing well.”
“This was an ISIS attack against the United States, and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria that is not fully controlled by them,” the president said. “The president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation.”
Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, condemned strongly what he called a “cowardly terrorist ambush targeting a joint U.S.–Syrian government patrol in central Syria.”
“We mourn the loss of three brave U.S. service members and civilian personnel and wish a speedy recovery to the Syrian troops wounded in the attack,” he stated. “We remain committed to defeating terrorism with our Syrian partners.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was one of many members of Congress to comment on social media and to offer prayers for those killed and injured.
“Make no mistake,” the senator stated. “Anyone who attacks America or our troops will be met by the full force of the U.S. military.”
Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, offered the Jewish state’s condolences and said it “shares in the grief” of the families of those killed and hopes for a quick recovery of those injured “in today’s attack by an ISIS gunman in Syria.”
“Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States, its closest ally,” he stated.
Noureddine el-Baba, a Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman, told Al-Ikhbariya, a state-run channel, that the gunman, who was part of the government security forces, was already being investigated, Time magazine reported.
“On Dec. 10, an evaluation was issued indicating that this attacker might hold extremist ideas, and a decision regarding him was due to be issued tomorrow, on Sunday,” the spokesman said, per Time.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated that “differentiating between Jolani’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and ISIS is a tall order.”
Pete Hegseth, the U.S. war secretary, stated that the “savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces.”
“Let it be known, if you target Americans—anywhere in the world—you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you and ruthlessly kill you,” he stated.
