The U.S. Army named them as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff in their honor, saying, “We are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss.”
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, has said a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter also was killed. Three other Guard members were wounded in the attack, the Iowa National Guard said Monday, with two of them in stable condition and the other in good condition.
How the attack happened
The shooting Saturday in the Syrian desert near the historic city of Palmyra also wounded members of the country's security forces, and the gunman was killed. The assailant had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months ago and recently was reassigned amid suspicions that he miight be affiliated with the ISIS terrorist group, a Syrian official said.
The man stormed a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials who were having lunch together and opened fire after clashing with Syrian guards, Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba said Sunday.
Trump administration vows retaliation
“Our hearts go out to their families, and we lift them up in prayer for strength and comfort during this time of grief,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday on social media. “The United States of America will avenge these fallen Americans with overwhelming force.”
Trump reiterated his promise of retaliation from over the weekend, telling reporters at the White House on Monday that IS will “be hit hard.”
He also reaffirmed his support for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, saying the Syrian government is not to blame for the deadly attack.
