Two U.S. soldiers and an American civilian political interpreter were killed in Syria in an ambush carried out by a lone Islamic State gunman, the U.S. military said.

Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack, during which the assailant was “engaged and killed,” the military said.

The identities of the victims will not be released for 24 hours, pending notification of next of kin.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement: “Let it be known that if you target Americans anywhere in the world, you will spend the rest of your short and agonizing life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you and kill you without mercy.”

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the ambush took place in Palmyra, in central Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would carry out “serious retaliatory strikes” following the attack in Syria.

“We will strike back,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, emphasizing that the attack targeted both U.S. and Syrian forces in an extremely dangerous part of the country.

Earlier, speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump warned that the United States would respond with retaliatory action if its forces were attacked again. He also noted that the American service members had been ambushed.