Former Syrian Security Officer with Extremist Ties Kills Three Americans in Palmyra Attack

The Syrian interior ministry announced Sunday that the individual responsible for killing three Americans in the Palmyra region on Saturday was a security forces member who had been scheduled for dismissal due to extremist ideologies.

The attack resulted in the death of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in what Syrian officials termed a "terrorist attack," while US authorities identified the perpetrator as an Islamic State (IS) militant who was killed following the incident.

Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told state television that authorities "had decided to fire him" from his security position for harboring "extremist Islamist ideas" and had planned to implement the dismissal on Sunday.

A Syrian security official speaking anonymously to AFP revealed that "11 members of the general security forces were arrested and brought in for questioning after the attack." The official added that the gunman had served in the security forces "for more than 10 months and was posted to several cities before being transferred to Palmyra."

Palmyra, known for its UNESCO-listed ancient ruins, was previously under IS control during the height of the group's territorial expansion in Syria.

This marks the first incident of its kind since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year, which led to renewed relations between Syria and the United States.

US President Donald Trump promised "very serious retaliation" in response to the attack.

According to an anonymous Syrian defense ministry official, prior to the incident, US forces had "arrived by land from the direction of the Al-Tanf military base" in southeastern Syria near the Jordanian border.

"The joint Syrian-American delegation first toured the city of Palmyra, then proceeded to the T-4 airbase before returning to a base in Palmyra," the source elaborated.

A Syrian military official stated on Saturday that the shooting occurred "during a meeting between Syrian and American officers" at a Syrian base in Palmyra. However, a Pentagon official contradicted this account, stating that the attack "took place in an area where the Syrian president does not have control."

In response, Syrian authorities launched operations against IS cells throughout Homs province, where Palmyra is located, according to state television reports on Sunday.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell explained that the soldiers "were conducting a key leader engagement" supporting counter-terrorism operations when the attack occurred, while US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack described it as an ambush targeting "a joint US-Syrian government patrol."

Trump characterized the incident as "an ISIS attack against the US, and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria," using another term for IS. He noted that three other wounded US troops were "doing well."

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that two members of Syrian security forces were also wounded in the attack.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani "strongly condemns the terrorist attack," according to official statements.

Interior ministry spokesman Baba revealed in a state television interview that there had been "prior warnings from the internal security command to allied forces in the desert region," adding that "the international coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings of a possible IS infiltration into consideration."

IS, which captured large portions of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014 during Syria's civil war, was territorially defeated in Syria five years later, though its fighters maintain a presence, particularly in Syria's vast desert regions.

Last month, during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's historic visit to Washington, Damascus officially joined the US-led global coalition against IS.

US forces remain deployed in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeast as well as at Al-Tanf near the Jordanian border.