A Trio of US Citizens Fatally Wounded in Syrian Territory by Suspected Islamic State Assailant, US Defense Department Says
A deadly attack in the heart of Syria on Saturday resulted in the deaths of a pair of American troops and a US civilian translator, with several other people injured, as stated by the Pentagon.
The assault on US troops in the historic city of Palmyra represents the first incident to cause fatalities following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad roughly a year ago.
"The attack took place while the soldiers were carrying out a key leader engagement," an official said. "Their mission was in aid of ongoing counter-ISIS / anti-terror operations in the area."
The attacker behind the gunfire was killed by allied troops, as confirmed by a statement from the US defense secretary.
Details Kept Private Out of Respect
Central Command noted that, as a matter of respect for the loved ones and in accordance with policy, the names of the fallen service members will be withheld until a full day after their families have been informed.
Earlier reports from Syrian state media and a war monitor stated that gunfire rang out during a visit by American troops to the area of Tadmur.
Conflicting Reports Surface
According to a state-run media outlet, a pair of local security forces and a number of US service members were wounded in the exchange. The injured were reportedly transported by aircraft to a garrison near the frontier with Iraq and Jordan.
An official for the Syrian government claimed a gunman linked to ISIS began shooting at the entrance of a military post. Authorities are looking into whether the assailant was a formal member of the organization or merely adhered to its extreme ideology.
The official also refuted a claim from a Britain-based monitoring group that the attacker was a security member.
Ongoing American Deployment in the Region
The United States currently has hundreds of troops stationed in Syria's east as part of a multinational alliance combating the ISIS militant group.
Despite being militarily routed in the country in 2019, the organization's sleeper cells continue to execute lethal strikes. UN estimates suggest the group retains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
US troops have previously been targeted in the past. One of the most severe previous attacks occurred in 2019 in northern Syria, when an explosion claimed the lives of two US service members and two American civilians, among others.
