Three US personnel killed in Islamic State attack on convoy in central Syria

Three US military personnel, including two army soldiers and a civilian interpreter, were killed on Saturday after a suspected Islamic State (IS) attacker targeted a joint American-Syrian convoy in central Syria, the US military said.

US Central Command said three additional US soldiers sustained injuries in the attack, which took place in the town of Palmyra. The command said a lone gunman opened fire while US troops were carrying out what it described as a “key leader engagement”.

“Partner forces” killed the attacker, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said in a social media post.

IS did not immediately claim responsibility. However, a senior US official said early assessments point to the armed group as the likely perpetrator. The official added that the attack occurred in an area outside Syrian government control.

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sheibani condemned what he described as a terrorist attack targeting a joint Syrian-US counterterrorism patrol near the city of Palmyra.

In a statement posted on X, Sheibani offered condolences to those affected by the attack.

"We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and to the American government and people, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery," he wrote.

The US military said it would withhold the identities of those killed until 24 hours after notifying their families.

Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing a security source, reported that two Syrian service members were wounded in the attack. The source said US helicopters evacuated the injured to a US base in the al-Tanf region near Syria’s border with Iraq.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and Washington’s special envoy to Syria, condemned the assault.

“We mourn the loss of three brave US service members and civilian personnel and wish a speedy recovery to the Syrian troops wounded in the attack,” Barrack said in a statement. “We remain committed to defeating terrorism with our Syrian partners.”

The attack came weeks after Syria announced a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition fighting IS, unveiled around the time Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.

US-led forces have intensified air raids and ground operations against suspected IS cells in recent months, often alongside Syrian security forces. Syria last month said it arrested more than 70 people nationwide accused of links to the group.

The United States maintains several hundred troops in northeastern Syria.