News - U.S. Army identifies two members of the Iowa National Guard killed in Syria

By Ben Finley and Hannah Fingerhut WASHINGTON (AP) — The two Iowa National Guard members who were killed in a weekend attack in Syria — which the U.S. military attributed to the Islamic State group — were identified on Monday and remembered as dedicated soldiers. The military said they were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds ordered that all flags in the state fly at half-staff in their honor. "We are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss," she said. The Pentagon's top spokesman, Sean Parnell, said a U.S. civilian who worked as an interpreter also died. Three other National Guard members were wounded in the attack, the Iowa National Guard said, noting that two of them were in stable condition and the other in good condition. The attack represented a significant test for the rapprochement between Washington and Damascus since the ouster of autocratic Bashar al-Assad a year ago, and occurred at a time when the U.S. military is expanding cooperation with Syrian security forces. Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria, part of a coalition fighting ISIS. How the attack unfolded In Saturday's shooting in the Syrian desert near the historic city of Palmyra, security forces also sustained injuries, and the attacker was killed. The assailant had joined Syria's internal security forces as a security guard two months ago, and was recently reassigned amid suspicions that he may be affiliated with ISIS, a Syrian official said. The man burst into a meeting between American and Syrian security officials who were lunching together and opened fire after clashing with Syrian guards, Nour al-Din al-Baba, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said on Sunday. Al-Baba acknowledged it was "a major security breach," but noted that in the year since Assad's fall, "there have been many more successes than failures" by the security forces. The army said Monday that the incident is under investigation. Military officials and President Donald Trump have blamed the attack on an ISIS member. Trump's administration promises retaliation "Our hearts are with their families, and we pray for their strength and comfort during these moments of pain," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday on social media. "The United States will avenge these fallen Americans with overwhelming force." Trump reiterated the weekend promise of retaliation: on Monday he told reporters at the White House that ISIS "will be struck hard." He also reaffirmed his support for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, saying the Syrian government is not to blame for the deadly attack. "This had nothing to do with him," Trump said of al-Sharaa. "This is a part of Syria over which they really do not have much control. And it was a surprise. He feels very badly about it. He is working on it. He is a strong man." Trump welcomed al-Sharaa — who led the lightning insurgency that toppled Assad's regime — to the White House for a historic meeting last month. Iowa National Guard members are remembered as heroes Meanwhile, Torres Tovar and Howard were remembered as dedicated soldiers and "beloved members" of the Iowa National Guard family, said Stephen Osborn, the adjutant general, in a statement. "Now our focus is to provide unwavering support to their families during this unimaginable time and to ensure that the legacy of these two heroes is never forgotten," Osborn said. Howard had wanted to be a soldier since he was a boy, according to Jeffrey Bunn, Howard's stepfather and chief of the Meskwaki Nation Police Department in Tama, Iowa, about 97 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Des Moines. Howard "loved what he was doing and was the first in, last out," Bunn wrote on Saturday on the department's Facebook page. Howard was also a loving husband and an "incredible man of faith," added Bunn, noting that Howard's younger brother, a squad sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort "Nate" back to the state. Howard was inspired by the fact that his grandfather had also served in the armed forces, and he wanted to serve for 20 years, according to a post in April on a Facebook page dedicated to sharing unit stories. He had more than 11 years of service. Three Iowa Guard colleagues deployed with Torres Tovar reflected on his character in a joint statement to the local WOI television station. David Hernandez, Freddy Sarceño, and Luis Corona said he was someone "very positive," family-oriented, and who always put others first. Fingerhut filed this report from Des Moines. AP journalist Abby Sewell contributed to this report. This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.