• Two U.S. service members and one civilian interpreter killed in central Syria.
• Attack conducted by a lone Islamic State gunman during joint patrol in Palmyra.
• Three additional service members injured in the ambush.
• This marks the first U.S. military casualties in Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad.
• U.S. plans to retaliate against those responsible for the attack.

In a tragic incident on Saturday, two U.S. service members and one civilian interpreter were killed during an ambush by a lone Islamic State gunman in Palmyra, Syria. The attack also left three other service members injured, prompting immediate helicopter evacuation to the Al-Tanf base where U.S. forces are stationed, according to SCMP and CBS News.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that the ambush occurred while U.S. troops were engaged in a key leader engagement intended to support counter-terrorism operations in the area. The Pentagon officials noted that the attacker was killed by joint partner forces during the engagement, according to HuffPost and BBC.

This incident represents the first U.S. military casualties in Syria since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad a year ago. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth condemned the attack, emphasizing that targeting Americans will lead to relentless consequences, as stated on NPR and Channel News Asia.

Reports indicated that the ambush happened in a location outside of the Syrian government's control, where ISIS is believed to maintain a presence despite its territorial defeat in 2019. The Syrian state media, SANA, stated that multiple U.S. and Syrian security personnel were injured during the ambush, which occurred as part of a joint patrol to strengthen U.S.-Syrian relationships post-Assad, supported by various sources including India Times and ABC News.