Trump vows retaliation after Syria attack kills two US soldiers, interpreter

Three other US soldiers were wounded, while Syrian state media reported injuries among Syrian personnel as well.

US Central Command said the shooting took place near the central Syrian city of Palmyra while US troops were carrying out what it described as a key engagement mission.

The attacker was later killed by partner forces, officials said, and American helicopters were reported to have evacuated casualties to a US base in the Al-Tanf region near the Iraqi border.

President Donald Trump said the United States would respond forcefully, describing the incident as “terrible” and vowing “very serious retaliation” in a post on his Truth Social platform. He also paid tribute to those killed, calling them “three great patriots”.

A senior US official said initial assessments suggested Islamic State was likely responsible, though the group did not immediately claim the attack. The official added that the incident occurred in an area not controlled by the Syrian government.

However, three local officials told Reuters the suspect was a member of Syria’s security forces. Syria’s Interior Ministry, speaking through a spokesperson, said the man did not hold a leadership post, but noted that an evaluation dated Wednesday, December 10, 2025, had raised concerns he may hold extremist views, with a decision on his case expected on Sunday, December 14, 2025.

The Interior Ministry spokesperson also claimed Syrian authorities had warned of the risk of an Islamic State attack in the area, but said coalition forces did not act on those warnings. Syria said it would investigate whether the attacker had direct links to the Islamic State or was merely influenced by the group’s ideology.

The attack comes roughly a month after Syria said it had signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State, an announcement that coincided with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and Washington’s special envoy to Syria, condemned the assault and said the US remained committed to combating terrorism alongside Syrian partners. The US-led coalition has continued operations against Islamic State suspects in recent months, while Syria has reported nationwide arrests of dozens of people accused of ties to the militant group.

The United States maintains troops in northeastern Syria as part of a long-running mission supporting Kurdish-led forces and counter-terrorism operations.

Reuters