Two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed and three others wounded in an ambush by the Islamic State (IS) group in central Syria on Saturday, the US Central Command said.

The attack marked the first assault on US troops in Syria to result in casualties since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad a year ago, according to defence officials.

In a post on social media, Central Command said the identities of the deceased service members would be withheld for 24 hours, in line with Department of War policy, to allow notification of next of kin.

No further details were immediately released about the circumstances of the ambush or the condition of those wounded, news agency AP reported.

Syrian state media reported that shots were fired during a visit by US troops to a historic t

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