"We will retaliate," Trump told reporters outside the White House. Shortly afterwards, he added from his platform Truth Social that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and upset by this attack.” “This was an ISIS attack against the United States and Syria, in a very dangerous area of ??Syria, which is not totally under their control,” he stated, referring to the deaths of two American service members and one civilian. The deceased service members were members of the Iowa National Guard, according to a person briefed on the situation who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Three other US service members wounded. US Central Command said three other service members were wounded in Saturday's ambush by a lone ISIS member in central Syria. Trump said the three “appear to be doing quite well.” The US military confirmed that the attacker was killed in the attack. Syrian authorities said members of the Syrian security forces were also wounded.

Trump noted that Syrian forces have cooperated with the Americans.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell explained that the attack occurred while the soldiers were meeting with local leaders.

“Their mission was to support ongoing counterterrorism and counter-ISIS operations in the region,” he wrote in X.

The attack on US troops in Syria was the first with fatalities since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago.