Iowa National Guard soldiers killed by ISIS gunman in Syria attack
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Speaking to Fox News, a senior US official said that the US soldiers killed and injured in the ambush attack in Syria on Saturday were members of the Iowa National Guard.
An ISIS attacker opened fire with an automatic weapon in the central Syrian town of Palmyra, killing two Iowa National Guard soldiers and an American civilian interpreter, the official said.
Three more US soldiers were injured in the attack.
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US forces patrol the city of Qamishli in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province on January 9. (Deli Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
Preliminary information indicates that the attacker was once linked to Syrian government forces and was a low-level member of the Syrian Security Forces, later linked to ISIS, the official said.
“He was not part of the official delegation accompanied by US and Syrian troops,” the official said. “… Since the Syrian armed attacker was not part of the US/Syria joint delegation, this cannot be considered a ‘green on blue’ incident.”
2 US SOLDIERS AND A TRANSLATOR WERE KILLED IN THE AMBUSH ATTACK IN SYRIA, TRUMP WARNED ‘VERY SERIOUS RETALIATION’
President Donald Trump attended the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland. (Thoss Katopodis/Getty Images)
Earlier Saturday, U.S. Central Command confirmed that the deaths and injuries were “the result of an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria.”
President Donald Trump warned of “very serious retaliation” following the ambush.
“We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots, two soldiers, and a Civilian Interpreter in Syria. We likewise pray for the three wounded soldiers, who have been confirmed to be in good health,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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US Army soldiers in Northeast Syria. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“This was an attack by ISIS on the United States and a very dangerous part of Syria that they do not completely control,” Trump said.
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Last month, two West Virginia National Guard members were ambushed and shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., in a targeted attack that left one soldier dead.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
