By SAMAR KASSABALI, BASSEM MROUE and SEUNG MIN KIM
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — President Donald Trump mentioned Saturday that “there will probably be very severe retaliation” after two U.S. service members and one American civilian have been killed in an assault in Syria that the USA blames on the Islamic State group.
“This was an ISIS assault towards the U.S., and Syria, in a really harmful a part of Syria, that isn’t totally managed by them,” he mentioned in a social media submit.
The American president advised reporters on the White Home that Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was “devastated by what occurred” and careworn that Syria was preventing alongside U.S. troops. Trump, in his submit, mentioned al-Sharaa was “extraordinarily offended and disturbed by this assault.”
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa mentioned the troopers have been members of the Iowa Nationwide Guard — the place she, too, as soon as served. “Our Iowa Nationwide Guard household is hurting as we mourn the lack of two of our personal and pray for the restoration of the three troopers wounded,” she mentioned.
U.S. Central Command mentioned three service members have been additionally wounded within the ambush Saturday by a lone IS member in central Syria. Trump mentioned the three “appear to be doing fairly properly.” The U.S. army mentioned the gunman was killed within the assault. Syrian officers mentioned the assault wounded members of Syria’s safety forces as properly.
The assault on U.S. troops in Syria was the primary with fatalities because the fall of President Bashar Assad a yr in the past.
“There will probably be very severe retaliation,” Trump mentioned on his Fact Social platform.
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, mentioned the civilian killed was a U.S. interpreter. Parnell mentioned the assault focused troopers concerned within the ongoing counter-terrorism operations within the area and is below energetic investigation.
The taking pictures came about close to historic Palmyra, based on the state-run SANA information company, which earlier mentioned two members of Syria’s safety power and a number of other U.S. service members had been wounded. The casualties have been taken by helicopter to the al-Tanf garrison close to the border with Iraq and Jordan.
Syria’s Inside Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba mentioned a gunman linked to IS opened fireplace on the gate of a army submit. He added that Syrian authorities are trying into whether or not the gunman was an IS member or solely carried its excessive ideology.
Later al-Baba mentioned that the attacker was a member of the Inner Safety power within the desert including that he “didn’t have any command submit” throughout the forces nor was he a bodyguard for the power commander.
Al-Baba added in an interview with state TV that some 5,000 members have joined Inner Safety forces within the desert and so they get evaluated on weekly foundation. He added that three days in the past, an analysis was made for the attacker that concluded he might need excessive ideology and a choice was anticipated to be issued concerning his case on Sunday however “the assault occurred on a Saturday which is a time without work for state establishments.”
U.S. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: “Let or not it’s recognized, in case you goal Individuals — anyplace on this planet — you’ll spend the remainder of your temporary, anxious life understanding the USA will hunt you, discover you, and ruthlessly kill you.”
U.S. officers made no reference of their statements to the gunman being a member of the Syrian safety forces. When requested concerning the matter, a Pentagon official didn’t straight reply to the query however mentioned, “This assault came about in an space the place the Syrian President doesn’t have management.”
The official spoke on situation of anonymity to debate delicate army points.
The U.S. has a whole lot of troops deployed in jap Syria as a part of a coalition preventing IS.
The U.S. had no diplomatic relations with Syria below Assad, however ties have warmed because the fall of the five-decade Assad household rule. Al-Sharaa, made a historic go to to Washington final month the place he held talks with Trump. It was the primary White Home go to by a Syrian head of state because the Center Jap nation gained independence from France in 1946 and got here after the U.S. lifted sanctions imposed on Syria through the Assads’ rule.
Al-Sharaa led the insurgent forces that toppled Bashar Assad in December 2024 and was named the nation’s interim chief in January. Al-Sharaa as soon as had ties to al-Qaida and had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head.
Final month, Syria joined the worldwide coalition preventing towards the IS as Damascus improves its relations with Western international locations following the ouster of Assad when insurgents captured his seat of energy in Damascus.
IS was defeated on the battlefield in Syria in 2019 however the group’s sleeper cells nonetheless perform lethal assaults within the nation. The United Nations says the group nonetheless has between 5,000 and seven,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. troops have maintained a presence in several elements of Syria — together with Al-Tanf garrison within the southeast — to coach different forces as a part of a broad marketing campaign towards IS, and have been focused prior to now. One of many deadliest assaults occurred in 2019 within the northern city of Manbij when a blast killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians in addition to others from Syria whereas conducting a patrol.
____
Mroue reported from Beirut and Seung Min Kim from Washington. Related Press author Ben Finley in Washington contributed.
___
An earlier model of this story gave an incorrect reference to Iraq.
