Cart
0
Deadly Ambush Near Palmyra
Syria has arrested five suspects after a deadly ambush near Palmyra killed three Americans, as the US vows strong retaliation while investigations continue into possible ISIL links.
Greiner briefs Lambert on the state of operations and plans to continue relations with Syrian partner forces. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Xander Walter. Source: DVIDS
Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to a shooting attack on United States and Syrian troops near the central city of Palmyra that killed three Americans, Syrian authorities said on Sunday, as the United States vowed severe retaliation against those responsible.
Syria’s Interior Ministry confirmed the arrests a day after the attack, which occurred in the central town of Palmyra. US President Donald Trump said the perpetrators would face significant consequences. “I can tell you, in Syria, there will be a lot of big damage done to the people that did it,” Trump said. “They got the person … but there’ll be big damage done.”
Gear Spotlight: Relevant to This Story
M18 Enamel Pin – For When It’s Time to Bounce
$9.99
$4.99
SICKNESS FOR THE THICCNESS TEE
$29.99
$14.99
A day earlier, Trump had pledged “serious retaliation” against ISIL (ISIS) after the ambush killed two American soldiers and one civilian interpreter. An investigation is ongoing to determine whether the attacker was formally linked to ISIL, though Trump blamed the armed group that seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.
The attack marked the first US military casualties in Syria since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad a year ago. In addition to the three Americans killed, three US service members were injured, along with at least two Syrian soldiers, according to government and media reports. Trump later said on social media that he had been informed the injured US troops were “doing well.”
“This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them,” Trump wrote. He added that Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was “extremely angry and disturbed” by the attack and warned that “there will be very serious retaliation.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s remarks, warning that anyone who attacks American forces would face deadly consequences. “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 social media.
The attack was first announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM), which described it as an ambush carried out by a lone ISIL gunman who was later “engaged and killed.” Hegseth later said the attacker “was killed by partner forces.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred near Palmyra in Syria’s central Homs province while US forces were conducting a “key leader engagement” as part of ongoing counter-ISIL and counterterrorism operations. Such missions often involve close coordination between allied forces and require personnel to operate with full combat readiness, including standardized tactical loadouts designed for rapid response in hostile environments.
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye, described the incident as a “cowardly terrorist ambush targeting a joint U.S.–Syrian government patrol,” noting that Syrian troops were also wounded and wishing them a speedy recovery.
However, details surrounding the attack remain unclear. CENTCOM said identifying information about the deceased US service members and their units would be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin had been notified. The US Defense Department said the incident remains under active investigation.
Myles Caggins, a retired US Army colonel and former spokesperson for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, told Al Jazeera that there had been “conflicting messages” regarding the attack. He noted that Joe Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, had indicated the incident may have been an insider or “green-on-blue” attack, while Ambassador Barrack appeared to step back from directly attributing the incident to ISIL.
Caggins said the US responded with a “show of force,” including dropping flares around Palmyra, but suggested Washington would now move on from the incident. “In reality, the attack is over, the attacker has been killed, and we must move to the next steps,” he said.
The identity of the suspect has not been publicly released. Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said authorities had decided to dismiss the perpetrator from the security forces before the attack due to “extremist Islamist ideas” and were planning to do so on Sunday. A Syrian security official told AFP that the gunman had served in the security forces for more than 10 months and had been posted to several cities before being transferred to Palmyra.
Al-Baba said an internal evaluation on December 10 indicated the attacker held extremist views, but he did not hold a leadership role within the security forces.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Syrian and US forces came under fire during a joint patrol. AFP, citing an anonymous Syrian military official, said shots were fired during a meeting between Syrian and American officers at a base in Palmyra. A witness in the city told AFP that gunfire could be heard from inside the base.
Traffic on the Deir az Zor–Damascus highway was temporarily halted as military aircraft conducted overflights in the area. A security source told SANA that US helicopters evacuated the wounded to the al-Tanf base near the Iraqi border.
In the aftermath of the attack, US officials reiterated their commitment to combating ISIL. “We will not waver in this mission until ISIS is utterly destroyed, and any attack on Americans will be met with swift and unrelenting justice,” Barrack said, adding that the US would work alongside the Syrian government to identify and hold accountable all individuals involved.
The US has maintained a military presence in northeastern Syria for more than a decade to support Kurdish-led forces fighting ISIL. ISIL captured Palmyra in 2015 before losing the city 10 months later, after destroying ancient sites and staging mass killings. Although territorially defeated in Syria in 2018, the group continues to carry out sporadic attacks.
As of December 2024, approximately 2,000 US troops remain stationed in Syria. In late November, CENTCOM announced the destruction of more than 15 sites containing ISIL weapons caches as part of ongoing operations. For service members operating in such environments, maintaining reliable equipment from communications gear to modular magazine pouches like the High Speed Gear Double Pistol Taco Mag Pouch, designed for rapid access and MOLLE compatibility remains a routine part of operational preparedness.
Caggins said Trump and al-Sharaa have developed a “new but strong relationship,” and that the US has been successfully partnering with Syria’s transitional government on counter-ISIL operations in desert regions and the northwest.
Earlier this month, Syria marked one year since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. The country continues to face severe security and economic challenges as it works to rebuild after 14 years of devastating civil war.
Editor’s Note:
This report covers an ongoing investigation into a deadly attack on U.S. and Syrian forces and includes official statements and preliminary findings that may evolve as authorities continue their inquiries.
