Washington, 14 December 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump said his country would retaliate for the two US soldiers and a US interpreter who were killed on Saturday in Syria.

"There will be very serious retaliation," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He said three soldiers were injured in the attack but did not identify their nationalities. He did say that it was confirmed they "are doing well."

The US president also noted that the attack occurred in a part of Syria that is not controlled by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who had visited Trump in the White house. Trump blamed the attack on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

"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," Trump wrote.

He said al-Sharaa "is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack."

The unidentified shooter was killed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The Pentagon confirmed earlier on Saturday the three US deaths and three injured people.

A Pentagon spokesman wrote on X that the deadly attack occurred in the city of Palmyra. He said their mission was to support ongoing operations against Islamic State and terrorism in the region.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reposted the tweet and wrote that the attacker was killed by allied forces. He further wrote: "Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for the region, described the attacker as a lone perpetrator.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) had earlier reported that several members of the US forces were injured after they came under fire near the ancient city of Palmyra.

Two members of the Syrian government forces were also injured as a result of the attack that happened during a joint field tour in the area, SANA quoted a security source as saying.

In the aftermath of the shooting, US helicopters evacuated the wounded to the al-Tanf military base near Syria's borders with Jordan and Iraq, according to the source.

Following the attack, joint Syrian-US forces completely stopped traffic on a highway linking the province of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria and the capital Damascus, a monitoring group said.

Some of those injured in the attack were in critical condition, added the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that relies on a network of activists inside Syria for information. 

In 2014, the Islamic State militant organization overran large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq. 

The United States set up an anti-Islamic State coalition and began an operation to combat the hardline group during which the US military, along with allies, conducted thousands of airstrikes in both countries.

Although Islamic State is considered militarily defeated, an estimated 2,500 of its operatives are still active in both Syria and Iraq.

Palmyra, located in the Syrian desert, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been the scene of heavy fighting in the past. Before the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in March 2011, the site was a popular destination for archaeologists and tourists.

Photo: archive