An ambush by a member of the Islamic State group in the central region on Saturday killed two U.S. service members and a U.S. civilian and wounded three others SyriaU.S. Central Command said.
It was the first attack on U.S. forces in Syria to cause casualties since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
Central Command said in the post X Out of respect for the families and in accordance with Department of Defense policy, the identities of service members will be kept confidential until 24 hours after their next of kin has been notified.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Heggs Posted on
The shooting occurred near the historic palmyraThe state-run Sana news agency said earlier that two members of the Syrian security forces and several U.S. service members were wounded. The injured were taken to ambulances by helicopter Tanf Garrison Close to the border with Iraq and Jordan.
SANA said the attacker was killed but gave no further details.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attackers were members of the Syrian security forces.
US deploys hundreds of troops to eastern Syria as part of coalition fighting Syria islamic state group.
last month, Syria joins After Assad’s ouster, Damascus improves relations with Western countries, international coalition fights Islamic State when rebels seized his seat of power in Damascus.
The United States has no diplomatic relations with Assad’s Syria, but relations have warmed since the fall of the Assad family’s five-year rule. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa historic visit He traveled to Washington last month for talks with President Donald Trump.
In 2019, the “Islamic State” was defeated on the battlefield in Syria, but the organization’s sleeper cells are still launching deadly attacks in the country. The United Nations says the organization still exists Between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. troops have been stationed in different parts of Syria, including the Tanf garrison in the central Homs province, to train other forces as part of a broad campaign against the Islamic State, but have been targeted in the past. One of the deadliest attacks occurred in 2019 in the northern town of Manbij, when an explosion killed two U.S. service members and two U.S. civilians, along with others from Syria, while on patrol.