Trump vows revenge after troops in Syria killed in ISIL ambush

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that “there will be very serious retaliation” after two U.S. service members and one American civilian were killed in an attack in Syria that the United States blames on the ISIL terrorist organization.

“This was an ISIL attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them,” he said in a social media post.

The American president told reporters at the White House that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, was “devastated by what happened” and stressed that Syria was fighting alongside U.S. troops.

Trump, in his post, said al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the attack took place in Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by ISIL during the height of its territorial expansion in Syria.

The soldiers "were conducting a key leader engagement" in support of counterterrorism operations when the attack occurred, Parnell said, while U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said the ambush targeted "a joint U.S.-Syrian government patrol.”

The incident is the first of its kind reported since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year and rekindled the country's ties with the United States.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in a post on X that Damascus "strongly condemns the terrorist attack that targeted a joint Syria-U.S. counterterrorism patrol near Palmyra.”

Türkiye also condemned the terör attack, extending condolences to the families of those killed and the governments of Syria and the U.S.

The Turkish ministry added that Türkiye would continue to support the Syrian government’s efforts to strengthen stability and security in the country and to combat terrorism.

A Syrian military official who requested anonymity said the shots were fired "during a meeting between Syrian and American officers" at a Syrian base in Palmyra.

A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said he heard the shots coming from inside the base.

In an interview on state television, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Anwar al-Baba said there had been "prior warnings from the internal security command to allied forces in the desert region" of a potential ISIL "infiltration.”

"The international coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings of a possible IS infiltration into consideration," he said.

The attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces. A Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson told a state-run television channel that the man did not have a leadership role in the security forces.

An evaluation was issued indicating that this attacker might hold extremist ideas on Dec. 10, and a decision regarding him was due to be issued on Dec. 14, he said.