Two US soldiers and their interpreter were murdered, while three US soldiers suffered serious wounds as a result of being attacked by a lone gunman linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant/Syria (ISIL/ISIS). The three soldiers who were wounded are making a good recovery. The soldiers were patrolling the Syrian province of Palmyra when they were ambushed. Syrian Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has expressed disturbance and anger at the attack. Damascus sent its condolences to Washington. Al-Sharaa vowed serious retaliation for the attacks. US President Donald Trump vowed to do the same before journalists on the South Lawn of the White House.
Syria has been cooperating with a US-led coalition against ISIS, reaching an agreement last month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House. Syria’s interior ministry said its units in Palmyra carried out an operation in coordination with “international coalition forces” that resulted in the arrest of five suspects “who were immediately referred for questioning.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the attack by phone with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Sunday. Al-Shaibani “offered condolences and reiterated the commitment of the Syrian government to degrade and destroy the shared threat of ISIS,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
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 US-led coalition has carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting ISIS 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.
ISIS has long been shattered and disorganized as a group since around 2018/2019. The militant group said to have been founded by Iraqi Abu Al-Baghdadi built itself a proto-state around 2015 between Iraq and Syria where a heretical version of sharia law was enforced and slavery was re-instated. The ISIL group called their new state a “caliphate” with their leader Al-Baghdadi at the helm of leadership. Baghdadi would later be killed in 2019. This sent ISIL into disarray and see the loss of its territory. The recent attack on American soldiers stationed inside Syria illustrates there are still some scattered loyalist strongholds across the length and breadth of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.
The assailant in question could just have been a pawn in a much larger complex scheme. It seemed rather convenient that the assailant was left to his own devices if US and Syrian intelligences regarded him as being dangerous. Remnants of the ISIS militant group could still be at large. However, Syria under President Al-Sharaa is still learning to find its feet after the ousting of the long-time previous President Bashir Al-Assad. It should be acknowledged that there are still Russian troops stationed in Syria from that time and that Moscow was instrumental in combatting the presence of ISIS.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region. The gunman was killed by partner forces, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The soldiers’ names, as well as identifying information about their units, are being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for further comment. As of June, roughly 1,500 U.S. troops remained in Syria following Pentagon-directed withdrawals, with the force expected to decline to a few hundred personnel by year’s end, according to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin.
It is possible that there are still a handful of ISIS affiliated groups in Syria as well as Iraq. The current interim government in Damascus already has its work cut out trying to rehabilitate and bring on board ethnic and sectarian minorities to restructure and unite Syria. The recent attack on the detachment of US troops in Palmyra province could create an unsteady rift between the governments of Al-Sharaa and Trump. Of course, it has now been revealed that the shooter had been able to embed himself in the Palmyra community, blending in to gain knowledge of the US soldiers’ habits and behaviour, as well as where they Patrol. This would later afford him the opportunity to gain the trust of the detachment and ambush them.
In the days to come further truths may unravel concerning what is actually happening. Especially with arrest of five suspects by the US military who are said to be affiliated with ISIL.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
