AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Two soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed while supporting counterterror operations, the Pentagon said. They are the first U.S. casualties in Syria since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad.American Bradley fighting vehicles during a joint exercise in 2021 with Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria.Credit...Baderkhan Ahmad/Associated PressDec. 13, 2025Updated 7:56 p.m. ETPresident Trump vowed on Saturday to retaliate against the Islamic State after an attack in central Syria killed two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter, the first American casualties in the country since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad last year.“This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There will be very serious retaliation.”The soldiers were supporting counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State group in Palmyra, a city in central Syria, when they came under fire from a lone gunman, according to American officials. Syrian security forces subsequently killed the gunman, American and Syrian officials said.Three American military personnel and two members of Syrian security forces were also wounded in the attack, according to American officials and Syrian state media. In the aftermath, American helicopters were deployed to evacuate the wounded to the al-Tanf U.S. base in southeastern Syria, Syrian state media said.Though the United States deployment in the Middle East is a fraction of what it once was, the assault was a stark reminder of the danger in the region and the quandary of whether to keep American forces there.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Curated by Fatima Al-Hassan
