Syrian President Condoles Trump After Deadly ISIS Attack on U.S. Troops in Palmyra
Damascus launches joint security campaign with U.S.-led coalition as Washington vows “very serious retaliation” and investigations reveal insider infiltration.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday sent a message of condolences to U.S. President Donald Trump following a deadly attack on American forces in central Syria, an incident Washington has blamed on the Islamic State (ISIS) group and described as a grave escalation in a volatile region.
In a statement, the Syrian presidency said Sharaa conveyed “a cable of condolences” to Trump over the killing of two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Homs province, expressing Syria’s “solidarity with the victims’ families.” The attack took place on Saturday near Palmyra, a desert region long associated with ISIS activity.
The shooting prompted an immediate joint response. A Syrian interior ministry official told AFP that Syrian forces, in coordination with the U.S.-led international coalition, launched a sweeping “security campaign” across the Syrian desert to hunt down ISIS sleeper cells.
Using the Arabic acronym Daesh, the official said the operation had already led to the arrest of three suspects linked to the attack.
Syrian authorities described the incident as a “terrorist attack,” while Washington said it was carried out by an ISIS militant who was subsequently killed.
Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba later revealed that the perpetrator had been a member of the Syrian security forces and was due to be dismissed on Sunday over what he called “extremist Islamist ideas.”
A Syrian security official said 11 members of the general security forces were arrested for questioning following the attack. According to the official, the gunman had served for more than 10 months and had been deployed in several cities before his transfer to Palmyra.
The incident marks the first such attack reported since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year, a shift that has led to a cautious revival of ties between Damascus and Washington.
In response, Trump vowed “very serious retaliation,” describing the shooting as “an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria.”
Accounts of the circumstances surrounding the attack diverged. A Syrian military official said the shots were fired during a meeting between Syrian and American officers at a Syrian base in Palmyra.
A Pentagon official, however, said the incident occurred “in an area where the Syrian president does not have control.” The Syrian interior ministry later said an ISIS member had “infiltrated” the meeting before opening fire.
In a post on X, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Saturday condemned the attack, stating: “The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces. Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.”
U.S. Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said the attack only “reinforces” Washington’s strategy of enabling capable Syrian partners to dismantle ISIS networks, deny them safe havens, and prevent their resurgence.
In a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani offered condolences and said the attack posed “a new challenge in the fight against terrorism.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the U.S. troops were conducting a “key leader engagement” in support of counterterrorism operations when the shooting occurred.
Trump confirmed that three other U.S. soldiers wounded in the incident were “doing well.” Syrian state media reported that two Syrian security personnel were also injured.
Syrian officials said there had been prior warnings of possible ISIS infiltration in the desert region. Interior ministry officials claimed those alerts were not sufficiently acted upon by coalition forces.
Separately, Syrian media reported that gunmen killed four members of the interior ministry’s road security department in Idlib province on Sunday, though no link to the Palmyra attack was established.
ISIS seized vast territories in Syria and Iraq in 2014 before being territorially defeated in Syria five years later. Despite its losses, the group maintains an active presence, particularly in Syria’s expansive desert areas.
Last month, during Sharaa’s landmark visit to Washington, Damascus formally joined the U.S.-led global coalition against ISIS, underscoring a renewed — and now tested — partnership in counterterrorism efforts.