DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The US has vowed a decisive response following an Islamic State (ISIS) attack on a joint US-Syrian patrol in Homs province on Saturday, with Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack saying on Sunday that Washington "will not allow this attack on our beautiful young troops to go uncontested."

“Two [US] service members and one [US] civilian were killed, and three service members were injured, as a result of an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria,” read a CENTCOM statement following the attack, adding that the perpetrator was killed.

The ambush took place near the city of Palmyra in the province of Homs during a joint field patrol. In addition to the American casualties, one Syrian security personnel was killed and several others were injured, state media reported.

Syria's interior ministry confirmed Sunday that the perpetrator was an ISIS-affiliated individual, stressing that combating the extremist group is a "top priority" for Damascus and that cooperation with the Global Coalition fighting the jihadists will continue.

In a post on X, Barrack said that "terrorists strike precisely because they are under sustained pressure from Syrian partners operating with US support, including the Syrian military under the command of President [Ahmed] al-Sharaa."

"Our strong partnerships within the global anti-ISIS coalition — including the committed support of nations aligned with Syria’s new government — will amplify efforts to neutralize ISIS wherever it hides," the envoy concluded.

Iraq on Sunday issued a condemnation of the attack, with the foreign ministry saying in a statement that "terrorism still poses an existing and effective threat to the security and stability of the region, which necessitates strengthening coordination and joint cooperation regionally and internationally, to confront it, eliminate its sources, and dry up its funding sources."

A day after the attack, Syrian government forces launched a security operation in Homs province, targeting suspected ISIS cells in Furqlus, al-Qaryatayn and the eastern desert, according to local sources.

The operation reportedly led to the arrest of five people, including suspects linked to the shooting in Palmyra, as security measures were tightened in the area.