Two US Army troopers and a civilian translator killed in Syria ambush
Two U.S. Army soldiers and one civilian interpreter were killed, and three others were injured, in Syria Saturday after being ambushed in an attack, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed.
The attack on American forces occurred as U.S. soldiers were conducting a “key leader engagement,” as part of a counter-terrorism operation in the region, Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said.
A lone ISIS gunman attacked the American forces, as well as Syrian forces, near the ancient city of Palmyra, the U.S. and the Syrian Arab News Agency said.
The motive for the attack remains unclear at this time, but the Pentagon is currently investigating, Parnell added.
U.S. Central Command said the gunman was killed.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “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.”
The Pentagon is withholding the names of the deceased soldiers as well as any identifying information about their units until next of kin notification, Parnell said.
The ambush comes just days after Admiral Charles Bradford “Brad” Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, expressed optimism for the future of Syria approximately one year after the fall of the al-Assad regime.
In a video message, Cooper said U.S. troops were in Syria to combat ISIS as well as support the integration of Syrian Democratic Forces with the Syrian government. The Trump administration has embraced the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
As of December 2024, roughly 2,000 U.S. troops were in Syria, but the Trump administration has been reducing the number of troops over the last 10 months. In April, they said they would draw the number down to 1,400.
Despite pulling some troops from Syria, the U.S. continues to fight back against ISIS – though U.S.-backed troops initially defeated the last holdouts of the caliphate in 2019. But ISIS still maintains a presence in the region and periodically carries out deadly attacks.
Source: independent.co.uk
