The Military on Monday recognized the 2 American troopers who had been killed in Palmyra, Syria, over the weekend as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Each had been members of the Iowa Nationwide Guard.
A civilian interpreter was additionally killed within the assault. The Pentagon stated an ISIS gunman ambushed the 2 guardsmen and the interpreter in Saturday’s assault.
In an announcement, Iowa’s Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote, “Sgt. Howard and Sgt. Torres-Tovar served our state and nation with honor, and in doing so, gave the last word sacrifice. We’re grateful for his or her service and deeply mourn their loss.”
Reynolds ordered flags throughout Iowa to instantly be flown at half-staff till sundown on the day of their funerals.
Iowa Nationwide Guard by way of AP
Torres-Tovar, Howard and the interpreter had been killed whereas they had been supporting a “key chief engagement” as a part of the counter-ISIS mission, in keeping with Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. Three U.S. service members had been injured within the assault, and the gunman was killed.
A Pentagon official says the U.S. presently has about 1,000 U.S. forces in Syria to counter ISIS.
In a social media put up after the assault, President Trump vowed “very severe retaliation.”
In remarks to reporters earlier than leaving the White Home for the Military-Navy soccer sport Saturday, Mr. Trump stated, “We mourn the lack of three nice patriots in Syria. You know the way it occurred — it was an ambush, horrible. We even have three wounded. They appear to be doing fairly effectively, however we mourn the loss.”
These are the primary U.S. troop deaths in Syria for the reason that fall of President Bashar Al Assad final 12 months. President Trump stated Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is “devastated by what occurred — this was an ISIS assault on us and Syria.”
