Washington, Dec. 13 (SANA) The U.S. military announced Saturday the death of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter following an attack in Syria.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Defense said that two U.S. service members and one American civilian were killed, while three other soldiers were wounded, after an ambush carried out by a militant affiliated with the ISIS terrorist organization. The statement confirmed that U.S. forces engaged the attacker and killed him.
The Pentagon added that further details about the incident will be released as they become available, noting that the identities of the victims are being withheld pending notification of their families, in accordance with established policy.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred while U.S. forces were meeting with a senior military commander as part of a mission supporting ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism operations in the region.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that “the assailant who carried out the attack was killed by partner forces,” stressing that “if Americans are targeted anywhere in the world, the United States will pursue those responsible, identify their location and eliminate them.”
Earlier, a Syrian security source told SANA that Syrian security forces and U.S. troops came under gunfire by an armed individual near the city of Palmyra during a joint field tour. The source said the incident resulted, according to preliminary reports, in the injury of two Syrian security personnel and several U.S. troops, while the gunman was killed.
A/Dh
