Attack on American soldiers in Syria. Secretary of Defense responds. “The Savage Has Been Killed”
US coalition forces fighting Islamic State were fired on Saturday while on patrol in the central Syrian city of Palmyra, two local Syrian officials told Reuters. A Pentagon spokesman said that in addition to the three deaths, three more people were injured.
How many soldiers died in the attack in Syria?
What did US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth say?
How many were injured in the attack?
Who ruled Syria for 54 years?
“The savage who carried out this attack was killed by allied forces. Let everyone know that if you target Americans – anywhere in the world – you will spend the rest of your short, anxious lives knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you mercilessly,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on Platform X.
Despite the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Syria remains a dangerous place. The Assad family, part of Syria's Alawite minority, ruled Syria for 54 years. The civil war in Syria that started in 2011 has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Millions had to leave their homes, approximately 5 million fled to neighboring countries. Recently, the UN reported that approximately 1.2 million refugees and 1.9 million internally displaced people have returned home after Assad's overthrow.
On Monday, Syria celebrated the anniversary of the fall of the al-Assad regime, which fled to Russia after several weeks of rapid offensive by anti-government Islamic fighters. The leader of the rebels was the current interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Shara.
