Three US military personnel — two Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter — were killed on Saturday (December 13) in Syria after a suspected Islamic State attacker targeted a joint convoy of American and Syrian forces. Three other US soldiers were wounded, according to the US military's Central Command.
The attack occurred "as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement" in the central Syrian town of Palmyra.
Suspected Islamic State involvement
Islamic State has not immediately claimed responsibility. However, a senior US official stated that initial assessments suggest the militant group likely carried out the attack. The incident took place in an area outside Syrian government control.
Casualties and evacuations
The names of the deceased will be withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification, the US military said. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that two Syrian service personnel were injured in the attack. Injured individuals were evacuated to a US base in Syria’s Al-Tanf region near the Iraqi border.
US military presence in Syria
As of June, the US had approximately 1,500 troops stationed in Syria following a series of withdrawals and consolidations ordered by the Pentagon, according to Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin. That number was expected to fall to several hundred by the end of the year.
Griffin reported that the US previously operated eight military bases in Syria to monitor and counter ISIS activity after US forces entered the country in 2014 to prevent the terror group from establishing a caliphate. Since then, three of those bases have been closed or handed over to the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Intelligence and security concerns
“The United States, CIA and military forces are reportedly deeply involved in securing and stabilizing the situation in Syria,” Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said highlighting ongoing intelligence and security challenges in the region.
Syria marks post-Assad milestone
The ambush comes as Syria marked a major political milestone. On Monday, tens of thousands of Syrians flooded the streets of Damascus to mark the first anniversary of the Assad regime’s collapse.
The celebrations followed the dramatic fall of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who fled the capital as rebel forces advanced in a rapid offensive that ended more than five decades of Assad family rule.
