‘ISIS attack against US’: Trump vows ‘serious retaliation’ after two US troops, one civilian killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (Dec 13) vowed that the United States would retaliate after its troops were killed by an alleged ambush by an Islamic State (IS) militant in Syria. Three other soldiers were also injured in the incident, who are now “doing well,” Trump confirmed. The US president called the incident an “ISIS attack against the US and Syria.” This comes as two US troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria earlier in the day.

“We will retaliate,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. Later on his Truth Social platform, the US president said that Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack,” adding that there will be a “very serious retaliation.”

Trump wrote, “We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria, two soldiers, and one Civilian Interpreter. Likewise, we pray for the three injured soldiers who, it has just been confirmed, are doing well.”

He further said, “This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them. The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The incident happened when the soldiers “were conducting a key leader engagement” in support of counterterrorism operations, when a joint US–Syrian government patrol was ambushed by an IS militant.