2 US Army Troops Killed, 3 Injured During Joint Mission in Syria; DOW Sec Hegseth Reacts – RedState
UPDATE [12:38 PM EDT]: In a breaking update, CNN reports that two US Army soldiers were killed, along with a civilian interpreter who worked with them. A statement on X released by Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, confirmed this information and added that three other people were also injured. The incident remains under investigation, he said:
Today in Palmyra, Syria, two U.S. Army soldiers and an American civilian interpreter were killed and three were injured.
The attack occurred as soldiers were conducting a key engagement with leaders. Their mission was to support the ongoing fight against ISIS and terrorism…
-Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) December 13, 2025
The statement continues:
The attack occurred as soldiers were conducting a key engagement with leaders. Their mission was to support ongoing counter-IS and terrorism operations in the region.
Soldiers’ names, as well as identifying information about their units, will not be released until 24 hours after notification to next of kin.
This attack is currently under active investigation.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also commented via X:
The savage who carried out this attack was killed by partner forces.
Let it be known, if you target Americans – anywhere in the world – you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you mercilessly.
original story
The Middle East has been a mess for over a thousand years now, and it doesn’t seem like things are getting better. It is still one of the most unstable places in the world. The latest illustration comes from Syria, where the evil Assad regime is finally over – but things are still uncertain and, of course, the United States is trying to contain the Islamic State terrorists operating there.
On Saturday, it became known that a joint US-Syrian patrol, on a mission to combat Islamic State terrorists, was ambushed near the town of Palmyra. Several were injured, some apparently seriously, although details remain unclear.
A senior US official confirmed to Fox News that there were several injuries after US troops were ambushed in Syria on Saturday.
The official added that some of the injuries were serious.
Two local Syrian officials told Reuters earlier that a convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State terror group was targeted while patrolling the central city of Palmyra.
Palmyra is located in central Syria and is a region of great historical importance. During the Syrian Civil War, the area was conquered and changed hands several times; When the Islamic State controlled the city, it destroyed several historical sites, including the tomb of Mohammed bin Ali, a descendant of a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the tomb of Nizar Abu Bahaaddeine, a 16th-century Sufi scholar. They also destroyed the ancient Canaanite temple of Baalshamin.
Islamic State terrorists often seem to behave like wild dogs; if they can’t eat it or take it away, they destroy it.
The US military and the CIA are reportedly active in this area to help the new Syrian government regain control:
The War Department told Fox News Digital that “we are aware of the reports” but added that it had “nothing further to provide at this time.”
“The United States, the CIA and military forces would be deeply involved in securing and stabilizing the situation in Syria,” Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, recently said on Fox News Digital.
One might well ask what the United States has to gain from this.
Learn more: IDF strikes Syrian military HQ to defend Druze fighters
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Right now we would have about 1,500 troops in Syria.
As of June, the United States had about 1,500 troops in Syria following Pentagon-ordered withdrawals and regroupings, and that number is expected to drop to just a few hundred by the end of this year, according to Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
Griffin reported that the United States has had eight bases in Syria monitoring ISIS since the U.S. military intervened to prevent the terrorist group from establishing a caliphate in 2014, although three of those bases have since been closed or handed over to the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Reducing the number to zero seems like a better plan. We can still support the new Syrian regime with air power without putting more U.S. troops on the ground there.
This is a developing story. We will keep you informed if events warrant it.
Editor’s note: Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the warrior ethos is returning to the U.S. military.
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