Five killed, including US soldiers, in Syria

DAMASCUS — Two Syrian security personnel, two US service members, and one US civilian were killed Saturday in an attack on a joint Syrian-US patrol near the ancient city of Palmyra, Syrian authorities and the US Central Command reported.

The attack occurred during a joint field tour involving Syrian internal security leadership and the joint forces near Palmyra in Syria's central Homs Province, amid prior warnings issued by Syrian security authorities about potential threats from the Islamic State group in the desert region, Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddin al-Baba told state television al-Ikhbariya.

The attacker was a gunman affiliated with the Internal Security Command in the Syrian desert region and had previously been flagged in an internal security assessment for suspected extremist views, al-Baba said.

Disciplinary measures were scheduled for Sunday, the first official working day of the week, but the attack occurred before the planned action could be taken, he added.

He said the attacker, who was killed during the exchange of fire, held no leadership role in the security forces and was not assigned to escort senior officials.

Two US service members and one US civilian were killed in an ambush carried out by a lone Islamic State gunman in Syria, US Central Command said on Saturday.

Three other service members were injured, the command said in a statement.

"The gunman was engaged and killed. As a matter of respect for the families and in accordance with Department of War policy, the identities of the service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified," said the statement.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump vowed "very serious retaliation".

Investigations were ongoing to determine whether the assailant had direct organizational links to the IS.

The incident prompted heightened security measures, including the temporary closure of the Deir al-Zour-Damascus highway, as authorities reiterated their commitment to strengthening internal oversight and preventing security breaches.

Currently, there are fewer than 1,000 US troops still stationed in Syria in what the Pentagon said is part of the efforts to help counter the IS militants.

Last month, Syria joined the international coalition fighting against the IS.

The IS was defeated on the battlefield in Syria in 2019, but the group's sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in the country, The Associated Press reported.

The United Nations says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

Xinhua - Agencies