Gunman who killed US troops in Syria believed to be ISIS infiltrator working with security forces, multiple sources say
The gunman who ambushed American and Syrian troops, killing two American soldiers and a civilian who served as an interpreter, is believed to be a Islamic State undercover working as part of a local security force, multiple sources told CBS News.
The shooting occurred Saturday during a mission by U.S. and Syrian forces to a historic central town near Palmyra. President Trump and U.S. military officials have attributed the attack to ISIS. Two members of the Syrian security forces were injured.
Sources told CBS News that local security forces were in Badia, which falls under Syrian government control.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday that “the shooter was engaged and killed.” Mr. Trump promised on Saturday that the United States would retaliate.
“This is an attack by ISIS on the United States and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, which is not entirely controlled by them,” Mr. Trump wrote in an article on Truth Social. “Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious reprisals.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and the identity of the shooter has not been released.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told state television on Sunday that Syrian authorities “decided to dismiss” him from the security forces before the attack for having “extremist Islamist ideas” and planned to do so on Sunday. A Syrian security official told Agence France-Presse on Sunday that “11 members of the general security forces were arrested and questioned after the attack.”
National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent called the shooting a “domestic terrorist attack.”
Saturday’s attack was the first to result in deaths since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
The United States has deployed hundreds of troops to eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State group and to curb Iranian influence. Currently, around 900 soldiers are stationed there. They are mainly stationed in the Kurdish-controlled northeast and at the al-Tanf base, in the southeast desert, near the borders with Iraq and Jordan.
Palmyra, home to ancient ruins listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was controlled by ISIS at the height of its territorial expansion in Syria.
The United States did not have diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have warmed since the fall of the five-decade Assad family regime. Acting President Ahmad al-Sharaa made a historical visit in Washington last month, where he spoke with Mr. Trump.
