An ISIS gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon in the central Syrian city of Palmyra, killing two Iowa National Guard soldiers and a U.S. civilian translator, the official said.
Three additional American soldiers were injured in the attack.
TRUMP vows ‘very severe retaliation’ against ISIS after deadly ambush in Syria killed US soldiers
US troops patrol Syria’s northeastern city of Qamishli, Hasakeh province, January 9. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
Preliminary information indicates that the attacker had once had ties to Syrian government forces and had been a low-level member of the Syrian security forces before later becoming associated with ISIS, the official said.
“He was not part of the official delegation escorted by the US and Syrian forces,” the official said. “…This would not be considered a ‘green on blue’ incident because the Syrian shooter was not part of the US/Syrian partner delegation.”
TWO US Army Soldiers and Interpreter Killed in Ambush Attack in Syria, TRUMP WARNS OF ‘VERY SEVERE RETALIATION’
President Donald Trump will attend the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Earlier Saturday, US Central Command confirmed that the deaths and injuries were the result of an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria.
President Donald Trump warned that there would be “very serious retaliation” following the ambush.
“We mourn the loss of three great American patriots in Syria, two soldiers and one civilian interpreter. Likewise, we pray for the three wounded soldiers who, it has just been confirmed, are doing well,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
6 TIMES ISIS HAS INSPIRED TERROR ATTACKS ON OUR SOIL
American soldiers in northeastern Syria. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Trump added: “This was an ISIS attack on the US and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria that is not fully controlled by them.”
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Last month, two members of the West Virginia National Guard were ambushed and shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., in a targeted attack that left one soldier dead.
