National Guard members killed in Syria attack returned to families in Iowa

Earlier this month, two National Guardsmen and an interpreter were killed after they were ambushed in Syria.

On Wednesday, the remains of the two members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, were returned home to Iowa in a solemn Christmas Eve for their grieving families.

Both soldiers were posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

The caskets of Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and William Nathanial Howard, 29, were returned to Des Moines, Iowa, and greeted by their families on the tarmac.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R), and U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (R) joined senior leaders of the Iowa National Guard at the transfer ceremony, according to the Associated Press.

RELATED: Trump promises 'big damage' after 2 National Guard soldiers killed in Syrian ambush

Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

The soldiers' remains were first flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where President Donald Trump paid his respects and met with family members of the deceased.

The Independent reported that both soldiers were posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

Following the attack, President Donald Trump promised "a lot of damage done to the people that did it."

Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Macomb, Michigan, a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter, was also killed in the attack. He was buried in Michigan over the weekend, the AP reported.

Citing the Iowa National Guard, the AP said that soldiers' funerals will take place in the coming days.

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