The sniper who killed US personnel in Syria is believed to be a security forces operative, multiple sources say.
The gunman who engaged us with Syrian forces, killing two American soldiers and a civilian translator, is believed to have been The state of Islam Infilmrator works as part of local security forces, multiple sources told CBS News.
The incident happened during a mission by us and Syrian forces in the historic central city near Palmyra on Saturday. President Trump and US military officials attributed the attack to ISIS. Two members of the Syrian security forces were injured.
Sources told CBS News that the security forces in Badia, fall under the control of the Syrian government.
US Central Command said in a statement on Saturday that “the gun was engaged and killed.” Mr Trump on Saturday vowed that the US would retaliate.
“This was an attack by the US, and Syria, in a dangerous part of Syria, that is not completely controlled by them,” said Mr. Trump on social media. “The President of Syria, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, is very angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be a very heavy retaliation.”
On Sunday, Mr. Trump said, “We had three million representatives cut off by the bad guys, not the Syrian government.” Mr. Trump also vowed, “There will be a lot of damage done to the people who did it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Sunday, the State Department said. According to the statement, Al-Shaibanan “expressed its condolences and reiterated its respect for the Syrian Government to reduce and destroy the joint threat of Isis.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and ownership of the gun has not been released.
Syrian Ministry of Defense spokesman Mentia Underddine Al-Baba told State Television on Sunday that Syrian authorities had “cut off fire before ideological attacks” and planned to do so on Sunday. A Syrian security official told Agence France-Presse on Sunday that 11 members of the regular forces were arrested and brought in for questioning after the attack. “
Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent called the shooting “a terrorist attack from within.”
Saturday’s attack was the first deadly since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad last year.
The US has hundreds of troops stationed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition to fight the Islamic State group and curb Iranian influence. Currently, about 900 soldiers are stationed there. They are written mainly in the Kurdish-controlled Northeast and Al-Tanf base in the southeastern desert near the borders with Iraq and Jordan.
Palmyra, home to documented ancient ruins, was controlled by ISIS at the height of its territorial expansion in Syria.
The US had no diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have warmed since the collapse of the Assad family’s five-year summit. The interim President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, made a historical tour In Washington last month, where he held talks with Mr Trump.
