The U.S. Army identified two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in a weekend attack in central Syria as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown.
The soldiers were killed in Palmyra in an ambush the U.S. military attributed to an ISIS gunman. An American civilian interpreter was also killed, and three other Guard members were wounded.
On Monday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has directed that all state flags be flown at half-staff to honor them, stating: “We are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss.”
— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) December 15, 2025
Syria confirmed Sunday that five suspects linked to the attack have been arrested. The Interior Ministry reported that its units in Palmyra carried out the operation in coordination with “international coalition forces,” resulting in the suspects being “immediately referred for questioning.”
President Donald Trump had earlier warned of serious consequences for what he described as an ISIS attack.
“This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria that is not fully controlled by them,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation.”
The U.S. currently has fewer than 1,000 troops in Syria as part of the coalition fighting the Islamic State, down from about 2,000 deployed a year ago.
