The United States (US) Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter.
Naijaonpoint reports that CENTCOM in a post via 𝕏, disclosed that the two soldiers were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State group opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol.
“An ambush by a lone ISIS gunman resulted in the three Americans’ deaths as well as injuries to three additional troops. The gunman was engaged and killed”, said CENTCOM, which oversees the US military in the Middle East.
The US Defense, Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that after Syria’s state media earlier reported an attack in the city of Palmyra had wounded American and Syrian troops.
He wrote on 𝕏, “The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces.”
Similarly, the 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.”
Parnell said the identities of the deceased troops would be withheld until after their families were notified.
The incident is the first of its kind reported since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, and rekindled the country’s ties with the United States.
A Syrian military official who requested anonymity said that the shots were fired “during a meeting between Syrian and American officers” at a Syrian base in Palmyra.
However, a Pentagon official speaking on the condition of anonymity told AFP that the attack “took place in an area where the Syrian President does not have control.”
In an interview on state television, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Anwar al-Baba said there had been “prior warnings from the internal security command to allied forces in the desert region” of a potential IS “infiltration.”
He said, “The international coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings of a possible IS infiltration into consideration.”