Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to the shooting of U.S. and Syrian troops in the central Syrian town of Palmyra on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
Syria's Interior Ministry said it had assessed the assailant just days before the attack and concluded he might have extremist views © Sana
Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to the shooting of U.S. and Syrian troops in the central Syrian town of Palmyra on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
Two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead. The Syrian Interior Ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathising with Islamic State.
The attack was barely a month after Syria announced it had signed a political cooperation agreement with the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, which coincided with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to the White House.
"Our units carried out a precise and decisive security operation in the city of Palmyra, following a cowardly terrorist attack carried out yesterday by an individual affiliated with the Islamic State," Syria's Interior Ministry said in a statement.
"The operation was conducted in full coordination with the General Intelligence Service and international coalition forces, and resulted in the arrest of five suspects, who were immediately referred for questioning."
Three U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack, the U.S. military's Central Command said. Syrian state news agency SANA said two Syrian service personnel were also injured.
Syria's Interior Ministry said it had assessed the assailant just days before the attack and concluded he might have extremist views. A decision about his future had been pending.
The U.S.-led coalition has carried out air strikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Islamic State suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria's security forces. Syria last month also carried out a nationwide campaign arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.
The United States has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to fight Islamic State, which held swathes of Syria and Iraq from 2014-2019.
Syria's government is now led by former rebels who toppled leader Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, including members of Syria's former Al Qaeda branch who broke with the group and clashed with Islamic State.
Reporting by Hatem Maher
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told lawmakers Wednesday that the current Middle East conflict is "far worse" than the Iraq War of 2003, a dramatic claim that says more about his domestic political calculations than any genuine diplomatic insight.
Turkey "is playing a role passing messages" between Iran and the U.S. to encourage de-escalation and direct negotiations, Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes on Wednesday, as Iran's military rejected President Donald Trump's assertion the U.S. was in negotiations to end the war which has roiled energy and financial markets, saying the U.S. is negotiating with itself.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.