By TWO United States Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in an attack in Syria on Saturday, the US Department of Defense has confirmed.
Three other personnel were wounded in the incident, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement posted on X.
According to Parnell, the attack occurred while the troops were carrying out a key leader engagement in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counter-terrorism operations in the region.
He added that the identities of those killed were being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the attacker was killed by partner forces.
“Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” Hegseth wrote on X.
The soldiers reportedly came under fire during a joint patrol with Syrian forces in central Syria, according to the country’s official news agency, SANA.
SANA said traffic along the highway linking Deir Ezzor and Damascus was temporarily halted following the attack, while video footage showed US combat aircraft flying overhead.
“US helicopters intervened to evacuate the wounded to the al-Tanf base following the shooting incident,” the agency reported. Al-Tanf is a US military base in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border.
CNN said it had contacted US Central Command for further details on the incident.
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