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President Donald Trump sent a strong message to those accused of killing two U.S. Army soldiers and an American interpreter in Syria on Saturday, noting the U.S. will retaliate against ISIS if forces are attacked again.
As Trump departed the White House for the Army-Navy football game Saturday afternoon, he said the country is mourning the loss of the soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter, who were ambushed by a lone ISIS gunman.
Three other soldiers were wounded, but are “doing well,” according to the president.
They were taken by helicopters to the al-Tanf garrison, which is near the border with Iraq and Jordan, The Associated Press reported, citing Syrian state media.
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Trump later posted to Truth Social adding “there will be very serious retaliation.”
“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,” he wrote in the post. “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!”
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region.
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The gunman was killed by partner forces, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The soldiers’ names, as well as identifying information about their units, are being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for further comment.
As of June, roughly 1,500 U.S. troops remained in Syria following Pentagon-directed withdrawals, with the force expected to decline to a few hundred personnel by year’s end, according to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin.
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The U.S. initially operated eight bases in Syria to monitor ISIS after intervening in 2014 to prevent the group from establishing a caliphate. Three of those bases have since been closed or transferred to the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Fox News’ Greg Norman, Ashley Oliver, Jennifer Griffin, Benjamin Weinthal and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
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