Two U.S. service members and an interpreter were killed in central Syria when an alleged Islamic State gunman opened fire on a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol near Palmyra, U.S. Central Command said, marking a deadly escalation as Washington and Damascus deepen military coordination against ISIS remnants.
CENTCOM announced the deaths on X, adding that three additional troops were wounded in what it described as “an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman.” The attacker “was engaged and killed,” the command said. Officials said the identities of the fallen would be withheld until families are notified.
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Syrian state media earlier reported that several American troops and two Syrian service members were wounded in the incident in Palmyra, the ancient desert city once seized by ISIS at the height of the group’s territorial control. SANA, the state news agency, said the soldiers had been on a “joint field tour.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X that “the savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces.” A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ambush occurred “in an area where the Syrian President does not have control.”
A Syrian military official, speaking anonymously, said gunfire erupted “during a meeting between Syrian and American officers” at a Syrian base in Palmyra. A local witness said he heard shots from inside the base.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group with a wide network in the country, said the gathering was part of “an American strategy to strengthen its presence and foothold in the Syrian desert,” where ISIS cells continue to operate across vast, sparsely governed terrain. Helicopters evacuated the wounded to the U.S. garrison at al-Tanf near the Jordanian border, according to SANA.
The attack is the first of its kind reported since Islamist-led forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year and reopened ties with the United States, a dramatic reconfiguration of alliances that has reshaped the battlefield and brought the two militaries into closer contact.
Last month, during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington, Damascus formally joined the U.S.-led global coalition against the Islamic State group, expanding coordination that U.S. officials say is focused on intelligence sharing, air support and targeted operations against ISIS leadership and logistics networks.
U.S. forces are deployed in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast and at al-Tanf, where American troops train partner forces and oversee a key transit corridor. While ISIS no longer holds territory, its fighters mount ambushes, IED attacks and assassinations, exploiting the desert’s cover and the patchwork of security control that persists years into the conflict.
Monday’s deadly ambush underscores the continued risk facing U.S. personnel and newly aligned Syrian units as they patrol former ISIS strongholds around Palmyra. It also highlights the challenges of securing coordination meetings and joint movements in contested areas where ISIS cells can stage quick strikes and melt back into the terrain.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from ISIS channels. CENTCOM said an investigation was underway. Syrian authorities did not provide further details on the wounded Syrian troops.
The United States has repeatedly said its mission in Syria remains narrowly focused on ensuring ISIS cannot regenerate. The latest attack comes as joint efforts intensify—a reminder that even as alliances shift, the threat from an adaptive insurgency endures.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
