The Syrian gunman who killed two U.S. Army soldiers and an American civilian interpreter on Saturday was a member of Syria’s security forces slated for dismissal over his extremist views, according to Syrian and American officials.
The attack in the central city of Palmyra marked the first U.S. casualties in Syria since the Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power a year ago, and underscored the fragile security landscape for Syria’s new government.
Three other American service members and two members of Syrian security forces were also wounded in the attack, which Syrian and American officials said had been carried out by the Islamic State, the jihadist group that once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq. The group, also known as ISIS, has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but President Trump has vowed retaliation.
In an interview broadcast on Syrian public television late on Saturday, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Noureddine al-Baba, said that the gunman — who was shot dead during the attack — had been a member of the government’s security forces. The attacker did not hold a senior position and was not assigned to a protection detail, the spokesman said.
Mr. al-Baba said that a routine evaluation last week found that the man held “extremist” views and that he had been slated for dismissal on Sunday, a day after the attack.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the gunman had “infiltrated” a meeting between Syrian forces and a delegation from a U.S.-led multinational coalition formed to combat ISIS. It remained unclear how the man gained access to the meeting site at a Syrian military headquarters, though the shooting occurred outside the building, according to Mr. al-Baba and a U.S. official.
A senior American official said that the gunman had been a member of Syria’s security services, or was in the process of being dismissed, but that he was not part of the security forces stationed in Palmyra at the time of the attack. U.S. officials declined on Sunday to specify the nature of the meeting, or to confirm whether American officials had been in attendance.
Mr. al-Baba said that Syrian security forces had previously warned their American counterparts about potential ISIS attacks on U.S. forces, but that those warnings were not heeded. Syria is investigating whether the gunman had direct ties to the Islamic State or was just motivated by its ideology, he said.
In the wake of the killings, government forces detained five people in Palmyra in an operation carried out in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency, SANA.
Since his rebel coalition toppled the Assad regime, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has had to contend with threats from the Islamic State and other armed groups. The latest attack signaled the challenges ahead for Syria as it emerges from a 13-year civil war and decades of authoritarian rule.
Arab nations and Western nations, including the United States, have moved to bolster the vision Mr. al-Sharaa has outlined for a new Syria, but repeated spasms of violence have raised doubts about the durability of the country’s security gains.
The attack on the American soldiers Saturday came months after the United States began drawing down its military presence in Syria, from around 2,000 troops at the start of the year to roughly 1,000, according to a Pentagon official.
On Sunday, residents of Palmyra expressed fears and frustration that the ancient desert city — once best known for its Roman-era ruins before it was captured by the Islamic State at the height of its power — would once again be stigmatized by its association with the terrorist group.
“Palmyra will be connected to Daesh again,” said Zahir Saleem, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
“They don’t want this,” he said of the city’s residents.
Hussam Hammoud and Hwaida Saad contributed reporting.
Euan Ward is a Times reporter covering Lebanon and Syria. He is based in Beirut.
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