Two American troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State group opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol, officials said.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the deaths on X after Syria’s state media earlier reported an attack in the city of Palmyra had wounded American and Syrian troops.
“An ambush by a lone ISIS gunman” resulted in the three Americans’ deaths as well as injuries to three additional troops, said CENTCOM, which oversees the US military in the Middle East.
“The gunman was engaged and killed,” it said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers “were conducting a key leader engagement” in support of counter-terrorism operations, while US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said the ambush targeted “a joint US–Syrian government patrol.”