The shooting attack in Palmyra, Syria, on Saturday struck Iowa National Guard troops. Two were killed, along with an American civilian interpreter; three others were wounded.

The gunman who killed two U.S. soldiers and an American civilian interpreter had been set to be dismissed from the security forces over his extremist views, U.S. and Syrian officials said.

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The killing of three Americans during what was said to be a counterterrorism operation in central Syria served as a reminder that U.S. troops are still operating in the country.

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The attack further complicates President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to unify the country and rebuild relationships with the international community, analysts say.

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The killing of three Americans during what was said to be a counterterrorism operation in central Syria served as a reminder that U.S. troops are still operating in the country.

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Two soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed while supporting counterterror operations, the Pentagon said. They are the first U.S. casualties in Syria since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad.

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Injuries were reported in an assault near the ancient city of Palmyra, the Syrian government’s news agency said.

© Baderkhan Ahmad/Associated Press

Syrians crave a normal life so fiercely that almost any alternative to al-Assad feels like salvation. That longing is where illusion begins.