President Donald Trump honored two Iowa National Guard members killed during an attack in Syria, participating in their dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, as well as a civilian working as an interpreter, Ayad Sakat, were killed last weekend in an ambush.
“The dignified transfer is not a ceremony; rather, it is a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member’s respective service,” Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations explains. “A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country.”
“We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria, two soldiers, and one Civilian Interpreter. Likewise, we pray for the three injured soldiers who, it has just been confirmed, are doing well,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend. “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. The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Upon the attack, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X that the “attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement. Their mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the region.”
“The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth said in response to Parnell’s statement. “Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.”
