US civilian interpreter killed in Syria identified as devoted father of four

The civilian interpreter who was killed in Palmyra, Syria, over the weekend has been identified as Ayad Mansoor Sakat. 

Sakat, 54, was born in Bakhdida, Iraq, and worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army during the Iraq invasion from 2003 to 2007.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday attended a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Sakat and two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in the attack in Syria.

The Department of the Army identified the soldiers as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, who were killed while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

Torres-Tovar and Howard were assigned to 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard.

The service members had been conducting a key leader engagement with local partners in support of ongoing counter-ISIS operations.

A Pentagon official told Fox News Digital the attack occurred in an area outside the control of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and that initial assessments indicate it was likely carried out by ISIS.

Sakat is survived by his wife, Manahel Daau, and their children: Zeena, Leena, Dina, and Farah.