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Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation
Michelle L. Price Wednesday 17 December 2025 20:29 GMT- Bookmark
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Donald Trump attended a solemn ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, paying his respects to two Iowa National Guard members and a US civilian interpreter killed in an attack in the Syrian desert.
The president met privately with the grieving families as the remains of their loved ones were repatriated to the country they served.
The dignified transfer, a poignant ritual conducted in honor of U.S. service members killed in action, included the civilian interpreter. Trump, who has visited Dover on several occasions during his presidency, once described the experience as "the toughest thing I have to do" in his role.
The two guardsmen killed in Syria on Saturday were identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the U.S. Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, and have been lauded as heroes by the Iowa National Guard.
Families of Sgt. Torres-Tovar and Sgt. Howard were present at Dover for the return of their remains, alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, members of Iowa’s congressional delegation, and leaders of the Iowa National Guard. Following the transfer, their remains are to be transported to Iowa.
A U.S. civilian working as an interpreter, identified on Tuesday as Ayad Mansoor Sakat, from Macomb, Michigan, was also killed in the attack. Three other members of the Iowa National Guard sustained injuries, though the Pentagon has not yet identified them. The fallen were among hundreds of U.S. troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition engaged in combating the Islamic State group.
Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation (Getty Images)During a dignified transfer, there is no formal role for a president beyond observing in silence. All thoughts regarding past events and the present ceremony at Dover are kept private. No dignitaries speak, with the only words coming from military officials who direct the highly organised transfers. Mr Trump arrived without Melania Trump, who had been scheduled to accompany him according to his public schedule. Her office declined to elaborate on her absence, with spokesperson Nick Clemens stating the first lady "was not able to attend today."
The process at Dover involves transfer cases, draped with the American flag and containing the soldiers' remains, being carried from the belly of a hulking C-17 military aircraft to a waiting vehicle. This takes place under the watchful eyes of the grieving family members. The vehicle then transports the remains to the mortuary facility at the base, where the fallen are prepared for burial at their final resting places.
Tributes poured in for the fallen. Jeffrey Bunn, Sgt. Howard's stepfather and chief of the Tama, Iowa, police department, stated that Howard "loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out." He added that Howard had aspired to be a soldier since childhood. In a social media post, Mr Bunn described Howard as a loving husband and an "amazing man of faith," noting that Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort "Nate" back to Iowa.
Sgt. Torres-Tovar was remembered as a "very positive" and family-oriented individual who consistently prioritised others, according to fellow Guard members deployed with him, who issued a statement to local TV broadcast station WOI.
Dina Qiryaqoz, the daughter of the civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, issued a statement on Wednesday. She revealed that her father had worked for the US Army during the invasion of Iraq from 2003 to 2007. Sakat is survived by his wife and four adult children.
Originally from Bakhdida, Iraq, a small Catholic village southeast of Mosul, the family immigrated to the US in 2007 on a special visa, Qiryaqoz explained. At the time of his death, Sakat was employed as an independent contractor for Virginia-based Valiant Integrated Services. His family is still grappling with the loss. "He was a devoted father and husband, a courageous interpreter and a man who believed deeply in the mission he served," Qiryaqoz said.
Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation.
The most recent instance of US service members killed in action occurred in January 2024, when three American troops died in a drone attack in Jordan. Saturday's deadly attack followed a rapprochement between the US and Syria, which has seen the once-pariah state integrated into a US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Trump has cultivated a relationship with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who spearheaded the ouster of President Bashar Assad. Following a meeting with al-Sharaa last month at the White House, Mr Trump stated on Monday that the attack had nothing to do with the Syrian leader, who Mr Trump said was "devastated by what happened."
During his first term, Trump visited Dover in 2017 to honor a US Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, in 2019 for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and in 2020 for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.
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