WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The two Iowa 好色tv Guard members killed in a weekend attack in Syria that the U.S. military blamed on the Islamic State group were identified Monday and remembered as dedicated soldiers.
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 that, 鈥淲e are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss.鈥
The Pentagon鈥檚 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 好色tv Guard said Monday, with two of them in stable condition and the other in good condition.
The attack was a major test for the since the a year ago, coming as the with Syrian security forces. Hundreds of American troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.
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鈥檚 internal security forces as a base security guard two months ago and recently was reassigned amid suspicions that he , 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.
Al-Baba acknowledged that it was 鈥渁 major security breach鈥 but said that , 鈥渢here have been many more successes than failures鈥 by security forces.
The Army said Monday that the incident is under investigation. Military officials and President Donald Trump have .
Trump administration vows retaliation
鈥淥ur hearts go out to their families, and we lift them up in prayer for strength and comfort during this time of grief,鈥 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday on social media. 鈥淭he United States of America will avenge these fallen Americans with overwhelming force.鈥
Trump said over the weekend that 鈥渢here will be very serious retaliation鈥 for the attack and that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was 鈥渄evastated by what happened,鈥 stressing that Syria was fighting alongside U.S. troops.
, who led the lightning insurgency that toppled Assad鈥檚 rule, to the White House for a historic meeting last month.
Iowa 好色tv Guard members remembered as heroes
Meanwhile, Torres-Tovar and Howard were remembered as dedicated soldiers and 鈥渃herished members鈥 of the Iowa 好色tv Guard family, Stephen Osborn, adjutant general, said in a statement.
鈥淥ur focus now is providing unwavering support to their families through this unimaginable time and ensuring the legacy of these two heroes is never forgotten,鈥 Osborn said.
Howard had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy, according to Jeffrey Bunn, Howard鈥檚 stepfather and chief of the Meskwaki Nation Police Department in Tama, Iowa, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines.
Howard 鈥渓oved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,鈥 Bunn wrote Saturday on the department鈥檚 Facebook page.
Howard also was a loving husband and an 鈥渁mazing man of faith,鈥 Bunn said, adding that Howard's younger brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa 好色tv Guard, would escort 鈥淣ate鈥 back to Iowa.
Howard was inspired by his grandfather鈥檚 service and wanted to serve for 20 years, according to an April post on a Facebook page dedicated to sharing stories of the unit. He had served for over 11 years.
Three fellow members of the Iowa Guard who were deployed with Torres-Tovar reflected on his character in a joint statement to local TV broadcast station, WOI.
David Hernandez, Freddy Sarce帽o and Luis Corona described him as 鈥渧ery positive,鈥 family oriented and always putting others first.
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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
