Syria Arrests Five Suspects After Palmyra Attack Kills Two U.S. Soldiers and Interpreter

Syria has arrested five suspects over their alleged links to a deadly shooting that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the central town of Palmyra, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The attack occurred on Saturday when a gunman opened fire on a joint convoy of U.S. and Syrian forces before being shot dead. Syrian authorities said the attacker was a member of the country’s security forces who was suspected of sympathising with Islamic State.

The Interior Ministry said security units in Palmyra carried out an operation in coordination with international coalition forces, leading to the arrest of five individuals who were immediately taken in for questioning.

The shooting comes as Syria deepens cooperation with a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, following an agreement reached last month during President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the attack by phone with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani on Sunday. According to the U.S. State Department, Shibani offered condolences and reaffirmed Syria’s commitment to combating ISIS and eliminating the shared threat.

Syrian officials said the attacker had been assessed days before the incident and was flagged for possible extremist views, but a final decision on his status had not yet been made.

The U.S.-led coalition has intensified air strikes and ground operations against Islamic State targets in Syria in recent months, often working alongside Syrian security forces. Last month, Syrian authorities also carried out a nationwide crackdown, arresting more than 70 people accused of having links to the group.

The United States continues to station troops in northeastern Syria as part of a long-running campaign against Islamic State, which controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019.

Syria is now governed by former rebel factions that overthrew Bashar al-Assad last year after 13 years of civil war, including groups that split from Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate and later fought against Islamic State.