Army identifies two US soldiers killed in Syria attack

The Army identified the two American soldiers on Monday. who were killed in Palmyra, Syriaover the weekend as sergeant. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Both were members of the Iowa National Guard.

A civilian interpreter also died in the attack. The Pentagon said that An ISIS gunman ambushed the two guards and the interpreter in Saturday’s attack.

In a statement, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote, “Sergeant Howard and Sergeant Torres-Tovar served our state and nation with honor and, in doing so, made the ultimate sacrifice. We are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss.”

Reynolds ordered Iowa flags immediately flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of his funeral.

Torres-Tovar, Howard and the interpreter were killed while supporting a “key leader engagement” as part of the counter-ISIS mission, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. Three U.S. service members were wounded in the attack and the gunman was killed.

A Pentagon official says the United States currently has about 1,000 American forces in Syria to counter ISIS.

In a social media post after the attack, President Trump promised “very serious retaliation.”

Speaking to reporters before leaving the White House for the Army-Navy football game on Saturday, Trump said: “We’re sorry for the loss of three great patriots in Syria. You know how it happened: It was an ambush, terrible. We also have three wounded. They seem to be doing pretty well, but we’re sorry for the loss.”

These are the first deaths of US troops in Syria since the fall of President Bashar Al Assad last year. President Trump said Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is “devastated by what happened: this was an ISIS attack against us and Syria.”