Army identifies two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in Syria

The Department of the Army on Monday identified two Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed in Palmyra, Syria.

Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, were killed Saturday while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.  

Torres-Tovar and Howard were assigned to 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard.

The Army said the incident remains under investigation.

ARMY IDENTIFIES TWO IOWA NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA 

 Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn had identified his son Nate as one of the U.S. service members who was killed in the attack in a Sunday Facebook post.

"My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer. 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. We will see you again son, until then we have i[t] from here," Bunn wrote.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Saturday that two Army soldiers and one civilian U.S. interpreter were killed, and three were wounded during the attack.

The service members had been conducting a key leader engagement with local partners in support of ongoing counter-ISIS operations when the attacker opened fire.

A Pentagon official told Fox News Digital the attack occurred in an area outside the control of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and that initial assessments indicate it was likely carried out by ISIS.

Syria’s Ministry of Interior said Sunday its forces carried out a security operation in Palmyra, coordinated with the General Intelligence Agency and international coalition forces, that led to the arrests of five suspects who were taken into custody for questioning.

US STRIKES DOZENS OF ISIS CAMPS AND OPERATIVES IN SYRIA AMID ASSAD'S DOWNFALL

"The Ministry of Interior confirms that targeting state institutions will not go unanswered, and that the security apparatus possesses full readiness and high capability to strike with an iron fist against anyone who threatens the security and stability of the country, and to pursue terrorist organizations wherever they may be found," read a statement from the government in part.

"These are Americans not only on the ground to fight and defeat ISIS on behalf of the whole world, but I've worked with Task Force Armadillo and the folks stationed at [Al-Tanf Garrison] before," said Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, on "Fox & Friends Weekend."

"They've helped save lives of babies and mothers besieged by Assad, Iran, Russia, and ISIS. So, these were angels."

President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday at the White House there will be "a lot of damage done to the people that did it."

"They got the person, the individual person. But there will be big damage done," he said.

Syria joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in November during al-Sharaa's historic visit to the White House, the first official visit by a Syrian president to Washington, D.C.