🔗 Share this article Three US Citizens Killed in Syria by Suspected Islamic State Gunman, Pentagon Says A deadly attack in central Syria on Saturday morning resulted in the loss of a pair of American troops and a US civilian translator, with a number of others injured, as stated by the US Department of Defense. This offensive on American forces in the historic city of Palmyra marks the first event to inflict casualties since the ouster of ex-leader Bashar al-Assad roughly a year ago. "The attack occurred as the service members were carrying out a high-level meeting," a Pentagon spokesperson said. "Their mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS / anti-terror missions in the region." The assailant behind the shooting was killed by allied troops, according to a declaration from the Secretary of Defense. Details Kept Private For Privacy US CENTCOM indicated that, as a matter of respect for the families and in line with policy, the names of the fallen service members will not be released until a full day after their next of kin have been informed. Initial accounts from Syrian state media and a conflict observatory said that shots erupted during a visit by American troops to the central town of Tadmur. Varying Reports Surface Per a government media outlet, a pair of local security forces and a number of US personnel were injured in the exchange. Those hurt were reportedly transported by helicopters to a garrison near the frontier with Iraq and Jordan. A spokesperson for Syria's interior ministry claimed a shooter linked to ISIS opened fire at the entrance of a army position. Officials are looking into whether the assailant was a formal member of the organization or simply adhered to its extreme ideology. This spokesperson also denied a claim from a UK-based rights group that the attacker was a member of the security forces. Continued American Deployment in the Region The United States currently has a military presence deployed in Syria's east as a component of a multinational alliance combating the Islamic State. Even after being militarily routed in the country in recent years, the group's sleeper cells still execute lethal strikes. UN estimates indicate the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in both Syria and Iraq. US troops have been targeted in the before. Among the deadliest previous attacks occurred in that year in the north, when an blast claimed the lives of two US service members and two American civilians, among additional casualties.