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Iowa National Guard Soldiers Killed in Syria Attack, President Vows Retaliation
Des Moines, IA – The Iowa National Guard is mourning the loss of two of its own, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt.
William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, who were killed in a hostile attack in Palmyra, Syria, on Saturday, December 13, 2025. Both soldiers sustained fatal injuries while engaged with hostile forces, the Army confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The deadly incident, attributed to a single ISIS gunman, also claimed the life of an American civilian interpreter and left three other Iowa National Guard members wounded.
President Donald Trump addressed the attack during a White House Christmas reception on Sunday, declaring a swift and forceful response. “We had three great patriots terminated by bad people, and not the Syrian government, it was ISIS,” President Trump stated, adding, “there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it.” He also noted that the new Syrian president has “fought by our side.”
This attack comes at a time when Damascus has been working to strengthen its relationship with the United States following the overthrow of the Assad dictatorship last year.
U.S. troops have been stationed in various locations across Syria for years, primarily training Syrian partner forces as part of the ongoing mission to combat ISIS, known as Operation Inherent Resolve. While American personnel have faced attacks previously, Saturday’s incident marks the deadliest since a 2019 blast that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. service members and two U.S. civilians.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell affirmed on X that the soldiers’ “mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the region.” Approximately 1,800 Iowa Army National Guard soldiers began deploying to the Middle East in late May to support this critical mission, according to a statement from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office on Saturday.
Chief Jeffrey Bunn, father of Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Police Chief of the Meskwaki Nation, shared his profound grief in a Facebook statement on Saturday.
“Our son Nate was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer,” Bunn wrote. “He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind.
Please pray for our Soldiers all around this cruel world.”
In response to the ambush, Syrian forces have arrested five suspects on Sunday, Syria’s Interior Ministry reported. The ministry confirmed that the suspects were “immediately placed under investigation.”