Washington’s Syria intervention is the mess that keeps on giving. And now more tragedy has struck after years of a Pentagon quagmire and endless occupation in the northeast of the country.

Two US Army soldiers and an American civilian who was serving as an interpreter were killed after shots were fired at US and allied Syrian forces during a security meeting near the ancient central Syrian town of Palmyra.

An additional three other American servicemembers were wounded in the attack, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X.

The attack occurred as troops were conducting “key leader engagement.” This marks the single biggest casualty event among US forces inside Syria in years – given at least six total US personnel were apparently shot.

A CENTCOM statement said it was the result of an an “ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria,” and that the “gunman was engaged and killed.”

“Their mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region,” Parnell had described further. He said that identifying information about their units will be withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification. “This attack is currently under active investigation.”

Syrian state SANA indicate that two members of a Syrian security detail were also wounded – but these seem to have been fighters from the largely Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The shooting took place on the outskirts of Palmyra.

The city of ruins, which also includes a modern town which grew up around tourism, is a UNESCO world heritage site an has long been frequented by visitors. 

Reports of US and Syrian forces imposing blockade on parts of Palmyra, long feared a hotbed of ‘ISIS cells’:

In Palmyra – eastern Syria, US forces of the coalition against ISIS alongside their allies the Tanf-FSA were ambushed.

Sources on the ground claim that soldiers of the convoy were wounded.

Right now, the US forces enforced a blockade of the main roads via the STG – US air… pic.twitter.com/LEI9ceXALF

— ScharoMaroof (@ScharoMaroof) December 13, 2025

In 2015 the Syrian Army was pushed out by advancing ISIS terrorists, and troops serving under President Assad were executed. Assad forces and the Russian military eventually liberated it:

ISIS began by executing Khaled Al-Ass’ad, the former Director of Antiquities at Palmyra, a devoted and outstanding archeologist who loved Palmyra like no one else. Following this horrific execution, ISIS began to destroy many of the most famous ruins—the Bel and Baalshamin temples, the tower tombs, the monumental arch and standing columns in addition to plundering the Palmyra Museum and destroying a large number of sculptures and artifacts left there.

In March 2016, the Assad forces (backed by the Russian military) recaptured Palmyra and immediately started building a Russian military base within the World Heritage Site. ISIS recaptured Palmyra in early December 2016 and destroyed the tetrapylon and damaged the theater. The Assad regime forces managed to take Palmyra back in March 2017.

Washington at the time didn’t seem to mind that ISIS was taking over key Syrian sites and cities at the time, given admissions from top US officials that they could ‘manage’ ISIS by using terrorism to keep pressure on Assad (see below) in order to overthrow him.

The savage who perpetrated 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 the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you. https://t.co/P7D9NrWpAL

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 13, 2025

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An important trip down memory lane and recent history…

Remember this?

Leaked audio of then Secretary of State John Kerry admitting that the US backed ISIS in Syria:

‘Daesh was threatening to take Damascus. That’s why Russia came in. We saw it coming too, but thought we could use it to force Assad to negotiate…’ https://t.co/9DdJxWK7NE pic.twitter.com/IOEzJMm5Od

— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) November 24, 2025