Syria detains five suspects as probe deepens into Palmyra shooting

Syrian Interior Ministry officials said on Sunday that five people had been detained in Palmyra and placed under investigation in connection with a shooting the previous day that killed two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter. The slaying, which U.S. military statements dated to December 13, also left three other personnel wounded and occurred in or near a Syrian base in the historic central city.

The United States Department of Defense described the assailant as a single Islamic State gunman who was engaged and killed by U.S. forces after the attack. U.S. Army statements said the two soldiers died of wounds sustained while engaged with hostile forces. U.S. officials have not released the names or units of the Americans killed pending notification of next of kin.

Syrian state media and government officials offered varying versions of the incident. Syrian accounts described either a joint patrol coming under fire or shots breaking out during a meeting at a Syrian base in Palmyra. A Syrian official said the man who carried out the attack had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard about two months earlier and had recently been reassigned amid suspicions he might have ties to Islamic State. That claim, if confirmed, would describe the attacker as an insider who gained access to positions of trust.

Syria’s official news agency also reported a separate fatal incident in Idlib province on Sunday, saying four members of internal security forces were killed and a fifth was wounded in Maarat al Numaan. Syrian authorities and international observers said it was not immediately clear whether that incident was linked to the Palmyra shooting. In the wake of the Palmyra attack Syrian military and internal security units announced sweeps across the Badiya desert region, saying they had disrupted a number of alleged Islamic State cells.

President Donald Trump publicly blamed Islamic State for the attack and vowed to inflict substantial damage on those responsible. The U.S. response, if it includes retaliatory strikes or expanded operations, could raise the prospect of escalation between American forces and local actors, and complicate fragile deconfliction arrangements with Syrian government forces.

The arrest of five suspects offers a potential roadmap for investigators, but Syrian authorities have not released names, nationalities or formal charges. Key questions remain unanswered, including the attacker’s precise identity, whether he acted alone or as part of a larger cell, and whether the detainees are accused of direct participation or of complicity. The Pentagon has signaled cooperation on the inquiry and is expected to release further details after completing internal notifications and investigative steps.

Beyond immediate security concerns the shooting underscores a longer term problem for American presence in Syria. Insurgent and extremist groups have shown resilience in parts of central and northwestern Syria, and the possibility of insider attacks threatens joint activities that were intended to suppress Islamic State remnants. The incident will be scrutinized by policymakers for its implications for force protection measures and for the broader strategy toward stabilizing areas liberated from the group while avoiding renewed escalation.