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Syria shooting update: Who attacked US soldiers in Palmyra? First details on suspect
Two US army soldiers and an interpreter were killed in Syria on December 13 after an attack on a convoy, and the attacker was shot dead as well.
An attack on an American and Syrian forces convoy on December 13 left two US army soldiers and an interpreter dead. The attacker was shot dead as well, and the shooter was initially suspected to be from Islamic State (IS).
Even as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have vowed heavy retaliation, more details about the shooter have emerged. Notably, the US government will withhold the name of the fallen soldiers for 24 hours while their families are notified.
What to know about the attacker in Syria?
The attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces, Reuters reported, citing local officials. A Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson said that he did not have a leadership role in the security forces.
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“On December 10, an evaluation was issued indicating that this attacker might hold extremist ideas, and a decision regarding him was due to be issued tomorrow, on Sunday,” Noureddine el-Baba, told Syrian television channel Al-Ikhbariya, as per the agency.
Meanwhile, a senior US official noted that as per initial assessments the Islamic State probably carried out the attack, However, the militant group did not immediately claim responsibility. The official added that the attack had taken place in an area that was not under the Syrian government's control.
The Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson added that they had warned about the possibility of an Islamic State attack in the region, but ‘coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings… into account.’ He added that Syria would determine if the attacker was actually linked to IS or just ascribed to the group's ideology.
Three US soldiers were also injured in the attack, as per the military's Central Command. Meanwhile, Syrian state news agency SANA reported that two Syrian service personnel had also sustained injuries. As per the national news agency, American helicopters evacuated the injured to a US base in Syria's Al-Tanf region near the Iraqi border.
The attack comes barely a month after Syria announced it signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition against IS, which coincided with President Ahmed al-Sharaa's White House visit.
(With Reuters inputs)
