The remains of two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert were welcomed back to Des Moines on Wednesday, marking a solemn Christmas Eve for their grieving families. Several loved ones approached the caskets carrying Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar,

Howard, Torres-Tovar and Sakat were killed in the city of Palmyra in central Syria. They were deployed to the country as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a military task force the Defense Department established in 2014 to combat the rise of ISIS in the region.

The US struck multiple targets in Syria on Friday that the US military tied to ISIS as retaliation for the recent attack that killed two American service members there, according to two US officials.

The remains of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in action in Syria arrived in Iowa and will be escorted home for their funerals.

ISIL attacks dropped after Assad regime fell. But the group is likely attempting to destabilise Syria's new government.

The State of Qatar condemned the terrorist bombing that targeted a mosque in the city of Homs, affirming its full solidarity with Syria