Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images News / Getty Images
(Iowa) -- Two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an ISIS attack in Syria were part of a mission to restrain ISIS activity in the region, a mission that includes hundreds of other Iowa Guardsmen.
“I can tell you a gentleman I’ve known, who served in a special unit, sent me a message and said, ‘Senator, we’ve got this. We’re already planning.’ They will ferret out those ISIS actors and make sure they are brought to justice,” said Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst.
Ernst says the Department of Defense will lead the initial steps in the investigation, and U.S. agencies are working to identify all those responsible for Saturday’s attack.
“We have 1,900 Iowa National Guardsmen deployed overseas. It’s very important work that they are doing, but we know with any important work also comes risk, and unfortunately, over the weekend, we saw the result of that risk,” Ernst said.
Iowa National Guard Sergeants Nate Howard and Edgar Torres-Tovar were killed in the attack, along with a civilian interpreter.