Two American soldiers and an American civilian interpreter were killed and three other soldiers were wounded in an attack on a joint delegation of US-led international coalition forces and Syrian forces near the city of Palmyra (Tadmur) in central Syria.
According to Al Jazeera, citing a Syrian security source, the delegation was on a mission to review a plan to confront ISIS when it came under fire.
American helicopters were dispatched to Al-Tanf base to evacuate the wounded.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the attacker was an ISIS-affiliated gunman who was killed by partner forces.
This is the first deadly attack on American forces in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
US President Donald Trump responded by saying: “We mourn the loss of three great patriotic American soldiers in Syria; this was an ISIS attack against the United States and Syria in a dangerous region that is not fully under control and will result in very serious retaliation.”
