Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell reported today on social media: “Today in Palmyra, Syria, two United States Army soldiers and one civilian U.S. interpreter were killed, and three were wounded. The attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement. Their mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the region. The soldiers’ names, as well as identifying information about their units, are being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification. This attack is currently under active investigation.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth replied: “The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces. 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.”
[The New York Times reported “a gunman who attacked the Syrian and American forces was killed, according to the Syrian news agency. Details about the person’s identity or motives remain unclear. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.”]
The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces.
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. https://t.co/P7D9NrWpAL
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 13, 2025
While many replied with “prayers to the families,” others asked, “What are U.S. soldiers doing in Syria, why are they there?”
On December 19, 2024, the U.S. Defense Department announced that approximately 2,000 U.S. troops were deployed to Syria — about 1,100 more than had been reported in the past.
Then-Pentagon press secretary U.S. Air Force Maj. General Patrick Ryder said the increased force presence had “been going on for a while,” and that the troops had been there “at a minimum, months” but insisted that the deployment of additional troops was unrelated to the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime earlier that month.