Two US soldiers and one US citizen killed in an ambush in Syria, US Central Command says

DAMASCUS, Syria — Two U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian were killed and three other people were injured on Saturday in an ambush by a lone member of the Islamic State group in central Syria, the U.S. military’s Central Command said.

The attack on US troops in Syria is the first to claim casualties since the fall of President Bashar Assad a year ago.

The Central Command said in a message on

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on

The shooting took place near historic Palmyra, according to state news agency SANA, which earlier said two members of the Syrian security forces and several US soldiers were wounded. The victims were taken by helicopter to the al-Tanf garrison near the borders with Iraq and Jordan.

SANA said the attacker was killed, without providing further details.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces.

The US has deployed hundreds of troops in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State.

Last month, Syria joined the international coalition fighting IS, while Damascus is improving its relations with Western countries following the ouster of Assad when insurgents captured his seat of power in Damascus.

The US did not maintain diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have grown increasingly close since the fall of the five-decade Assad family rule. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa made a historic visit to Washington last month, where he held talks with President Donald Trump.

IS was defeated on the battlefield in Syria in 2019, but the group’s sleeper cells continue to carry out deadly attacks in the country. According to the United Nations, the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

US forces, who have maintained a presence in several parts of Syria – including the Al-Tanf garrison in central Homs province – to train other forces as part of a broad campaign against IS, have been targeted in the past. One of the deadliest attacks occurred in 2019 in the northern city of Manbij, when an explosion killed two U.S. service members, two U.S. citizens and others from Syria while conducting a patrol.

Mroue reported from Beirut.