President Donald Trump participated on Wednesday in the dignified transfer of the three Americans, including two soldiers and an interpreter, killed in Syria on Saturday.
Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth saluted side by side as the remains of the three Americans, Iowa National Guardsmen Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Howard and civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat were transferred from a C-17 at Dover Air Force Base.
“That was a beautiful event for three great people, and they’re now looking down and their parents and wives and all of the people that were there were, I mean, devastated, but great people,” Trump told reporters afterward.
Trump met with the family members of the fallen before the transfer, according to the White House press pool. Howard hails from Marshalltown, Iowa; Tores-Tovar from Des Moines; and Sakat is from Michigan.
Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Chris Coons (D-DE) were also on hand for the dignified transfer.
The three Americans were reportedly ambushed on Saturday during a mission supporting counter-ISIS and counter-terrorism operations, as Breitbart News noted:
According to Assistant Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell, three other Americans were also wounded in what multiple reports have described as an ambush.
“The attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement. Their mission was in support of ongoing counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the region,” Parnell explained.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth later confirmed that the involved attacker was “killed by partner forces.” The Pentagon has emphasized that President Sharaa does not control the territory where the attack occurred.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour Eddin al-Baba told reporters on Saturday that the attacker had been identified and emphasized that he had “no command affiliation within Internal Security and was not part of the command’s escort.” He appeared to indicate, however, that he was employed in some form with Syrian security forces.
According to NewsNation White House correspondent Kellie Meyer, two teams participated in the transfer on Wednesday: the first team transferred the remains of Torres-Tovar and Howard, and the second team transferred the remains of Sakat.
