Staff Reports
Two American service members and a U.S. civilian interpreter were ambushed and killed during a patrol in central Syria, and three other service members were wounded in the brazen attack near Palmyra that U.S. officials say was carried out by an ISIS gunman. The assailant was reportedly engaged and killed by partner forces after the ambush, underscoring the savage, cowardly nature of this enemy.
President Trump rightly vowed “very serious retaliation” and promised the United States will respond if our forces are attacked again, a clear message the world needed to hear after this outrage. This was no ambiguous skirmish — it was an ISIS ambush against Americans doing hard work to keep terrorism contained, and the commander-in-chief’s blunt promise to retaliate is exactly the posture that deters future attacks.
Military officials say the wounded were evacuated to the al-Tanf garrison for treatment and that the mission was a routine key-leader engagement tied to counter-ISIS operations — proof that American troops were acting with purpose, not provocatively. Our people were there working with partners to keep the pressure on ISIS; the killers will not get away with murder simply because they hide in Syria’s lawless terrain.
Let there be no confusion: terrorists who target U.S. troops will be hunted and punished. Too many in Washington treat counterterrorism like a checkbox; conservatives demand a ruthless, sustained campaign until ISIS is erased, not a string of sympathetic statements and slow, bureaucratic responses. Our men and women in uniform deserve a command that follows through, and the American people deserve leaders who will make the enemy pay the full price.
Damascus reportedly expressed outrage at the killings and the event exposes how fragmented control in Syria still gives jihadists space to strike — a reality that should shame the policymakers who allowed a security vacuum to persist. Diplomacy without strength invites carnage; building robust partnerships and sustaining pressure on ISIS sanctuaries must be non-negotiable.
The U.S.-led coalition has been reorganizing and redeploying forces to deny ISIS the chance to regroup, and this attack proves the work is far from finished — we need steady pressure, better intelligence, and more lethal consequences for those who murder Americans. The screw must be tightened, not loosened, and Congress should back funding and authorities that give commanders the tools to finish the job.
Now is the moment for the country to rally behind our troops and demand accountability. Patriots will not accept half-measures or moral cowardice; we will stand with the families, back the mission, and ensure that those who dared to attack Americans learn that when you touch one of ours, you will face an unforgiving, relentless response.
