Washington, Dec. 14 (SANA) U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said Sunday that the cowardly terrorist ambush that took the lives of two heroic American soldiers and a dedicated civilian interpreter in Syria underscores the enduring menace of ISIS to Syria and the wider world, including the security of the United States homeland.
Barrack said on “X” platform that the United States remains “resolute in our grief and our determination,” stressing that the attack highlights that ISIS continues to threaten global stability, not just Syria.
He said the U.S. strategy focuses on enabling capable Syrian partners, with limited U.S. operational support, to hunt down ISIS networks, deny them safe haven and prevent their resurgence. The approach, he said, keeps the fight local, limits U.S. exposure and avoids another large-scale American war in the Middle East.
“The recent attack does not invalidate that strategy; it reinforces it,” Barrack said. He added that terrorists strike precisely because they are under sustained pressure from Syrian partners operating with U.S. support, including the Syrian military under the command of President al-Sharaa.
Barrack said investigations into the attack are continuing and that new facts may emerge, but added that the underlying reality remains unchanged.
By confronting and defeating ISIS on Syrian soil, he said, a limited U.S. troop presence working in partnership with local forces is actively shielding the United States from far greater threats. Preventing the group’s resurgence in Syria, he added, blocks potential terrorist flows through Europe and onward to American shores.
Barrack said the deaths of the American soldiers and the civilian interpreter have caused “the ache and torturous pain in every American’s heart,” stressing that nothing can quell the sorrow over what he called the senseless loss of “young American heroes.”
He said President Donald Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the full military, political and diplomatic apparatus of the United States would not allow the attack to go uncontested.
Barrack said strong partnerships within the global anti-ISIS coalition, including the committed support of nations aligned with Syria’s new government, will amplify efforts to neutralize ISIS wherever it hides. He said allies share an intensified intent and enhanced capabilities to eradicate the group.
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