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President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would carry out “very serious retaliation” after an attack in Syria killed two U.S. service members and an American civilian in what U.S. officials said was an assault by the Islamic State group.
“This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria that is not fully controlled by them,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. He later told reporters at the White House that Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was “devastated by what happened” and was cooperating with U.S. forces.
U.S. Central Command said the attack occurred Saturday in central Syria when a lone gunman opened fire on a military post where U.S. forces were conducting counterterrorism operations. Three additional U.S. service members were wounded, and the attacker was killed, the military said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the civilian killed in the attack was a U.S. interpreter. The wounded troops were evacuated by helicopter to the U.S. garrison at al-Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan.
Iowa National Guard soldiers killed
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said the two service members killed were members of the Iowa National Guard.
“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,” Ernst said in a statement. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the soldiers’ names were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Trump said the wounded troops “seem to be doing pretty well.”
Syrian state media reported the shooting occurred near the historic city of Palmyra and said members of Syria’s security forces were also wounded.
Conflicting accounts of attacker’s ties
Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesman, Nour al-Din al-Baba, initially said the gunman was linked to the Islamic State and opened fire at the gate of a military post. He later said the attacker was a member of Syria’s Internal Security forces operating in the desert, but stressed the individual did not hold a command role and was not assigned as a bodyguard.
Al-Baba said an internal evaluation conducted days earlier had raised concerns that the attacker may have held extremist views, and that a decision on his status was expected Sunday. The attack occurred Saturday, when government offices were closed, he said.
U.S. officials did not confirm that the attacker was part of Syrian security forces. A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said only that the attack occurred in an area “where the Syrian president does not have control.”
First deadly attack since Assad’s ouster
The shooting marked the first attack with U.S. fatalities in Syria since the fall of longtime President Bashar Assad a year ago. Assad was toppled in December 2024 by rebel forces led by al-Sharaa, who was named interim president the following month.
U.S.-Syrian relations have improved since Assad’s ouster. Al-Sharaa made a historic visit to Washington last month, becoming the first Syrian head of state to visit the White House since the country gained independence from France in 1946. The visit followed the U.S. decision to lift sanctions imposed during the Assad family’s five decades in power.
Despite those developments, large swaths of Syria remain unstable. Islamic State was defeated territorially in Syria in 2019, but U.N. officials estimate the group retains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters across Syria and Iraq and continues to operate sleeper cells.
U.S. signals forceful response
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s warning in a post on X, saying, “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.”
Hundreds of U.S. troops remain deployed in eastern and southern Syria as part of an international coalition fighting IS, including at al-Tanf, where U.S. forces train partner units and monitor militant activity. U.S. troops have been targeted there in the past, including a deadly 2019 bombing in the northern city of Manbij that killed U.S. service members and civilians.
Broader regional context
Syria formally joined the international coalition against IS last month as it seeks closer ties with Western governments. Still, the U.S. military has warned that the group continues to exploit security gaps in desert regions and contested territory.
The Pentagon said the investigation into Saturday’s attack is ongoing.
