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22:00 GMT
WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (KUNA) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani has affirmed the Syrian government's commitment to degrading and destroying the threat of the terrorist Islamic State group.
Al-Shaibani made this commitment in a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, according to a statement by the State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
The call focused on the ISIS attack on a joint Syrian-US petrol in the Syrian city of Palmyra (Tadmur) which resulted in the killing of three Americans: two soldiers and a civilian interpreter, and the injury of three others.
For his part, Secretary Rubio vowed that the United States would hold all who hurt and threaten Americans accountable.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said that there will be "very serious retaliation" to the assault, which was carried out by a single ISIS gunman.
He said the country is mourning "the loss of the three great American patriots" and praying for the three wounded, who "seem to be doing pretty well."
The president noted the US' cooperation with Syrian forces. "Syria, by the way, was fighting along with us," Trump said, adding that Syria's new president is "devastated by what happened."
The soldiers' "mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region," wrote Sean Parnell, chief spokesperson for the Pentagon, in a statement on X.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the attacker was killed by partner forces. (end)
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