President Trump Vows Strong Retaliation After ISIS Kills Three Americans in Syria Attack

President Donald Trump has promised "very serious retaliation" following an attack in Syria that claimed the lives of two U.S. service members and one American civilian interpreter, an assault attributed to the Islamic State group.

"This was an ISIS attack against the US, and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them," Trump stated in a social media post on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump mentioned that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was "devastated by what happened" and emphasized that Syrian forces were fighting alongside American troops. In his statement, Trump noted that al-Sharaa was "extremely angry and disturbed by this attack."

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa confirmed that the fallen soldiers belonged to the Iowa National Guard, where she previously served. "Our Iowa National Guard family is hurting as we mourn the loss of two of our own and pray for the recovery of the three soldiers wounded," she said.

According to U.S. Central Command, three additional service members were wounded in the ambush conducted by a lone IS member in central Syria. The attacker was killed during the incident. Trump indicated that the wounded personnel "seem to be doing pretty well."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that the civilian casualty was an American interpreter. The attack targeted soldiers involved in counter-terrorism operations in the region and remains under active investigation.

This deadly assault represents the first fatal attack on U.S. troops in Syria since former President Bashar Assad's fall from power approximately a year ago.

The incident occurred near historic Palmyra, as reported by Syria's state-run SANA news agency. Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba stated that a gunman with links to IS opened fire at a military post entrance.

Al-Baba later revealed that the attacker was a member of Syria's Internal Security force who "did not have any command post" and was not a bodyguard for the force commander. He explained that around 5,000 individuals have joined the Internal Security forces, with regular evaluations conducted weekly. The attacker had been evaluated three days prior to the incident and was flagged for potential extremist ideology, with a decision regarding his status expected on Sunday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a strong warning on social media platform X: "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."

When questioned about reports that the gunman was a member of Syrian security forces, a Pentagon official avoided directly addressing the claim but noted, "This attack took place in an area where the Syrian President does not have control."

The United States maintains hundreds of troops in eastern Syria as part of the coalition fighting against IS. Relations between the U.S. and Syria have improved significantly since the end of the Assad family's five-decade rule. Al-Sharaa, who led the rebel forces that toppled Bashar Assad in December 2024, made a historic visit to Washington last month for discussions with Trump—marking the first White House visit by a Syrian head of state since the country gained independence from France in 1946.

Last month, Syria officially joined the international coalition fighting against IS as Damascus works to improve relations with Western nations following Assad's ouster. Though IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, the United Nations estimates the group still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters across Syria and Iraq, with sleeper cells continuing to conduct deadly attacks.

U.S. forces have maintained a presence in various parts of Syria, including the Al-Tanf garrison in the southeast, to train local forces as part of the broader campaign against IS. American troops have been targeted in the past, with one of the deadliest attacks occurring in 2019 in the northern town of Manbij, when an explosion killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians along with others from Syria during a patrol operation.