Syrian security services have detained five suspects in connection with an attack on a US-Syrian military convoy in Palmyra that killed three people, the Syrian Interior Ministry announced Sunday.

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed when an attacker targeted the convoy of American and Syrian forces on December 13 before being shot dead. The Syrian Interior Ministry described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathizing with the Islamic State.

“Our units carried out a precise and decisive security operation in the city of Palmyra, following a cowardly terrorist attack carried out yesterday by an individual affiliated with the Islamic State,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. “The operation was conducted in full coordination with the General Intelligence Service and international coalition forces, and resulted in the arrest of five suspects, who were immediately referred for questioning.”

The Attack

The Pentagon confirmed that two US servicemembers and one civilian translator were killed in the December 13 attack in Palmyra, with three others wounded. One Syrian service member was also killed in the incident, according to the Interior Ministry.

The operation to identify the group behind the attack was conducted in full coordination with Syria’s reformed General Intelligence Directorate and international coalition forces, based on precise intelligence. The five suspects were immediately handed over for investigation to both Syrian and US authorities, according to Syrian media channels.

Trump Promises Retaliation

US President Donald Trump has pledged serious retaliation following the attack. “We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria, two soldiers, and one Civilian Interpreter,” Trump wrote on social media December 14. “This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them.”

Trump said the three injured soldiers are doing well and confirmed that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.”

“There will be very serious retaliation,” Trump wrote.

Questions About US Presence

The attack has reignited debate about the US military presence in Syria. Senator Rand Paul said the US should reconsider stationing troops there following the incident.

“The soldiers who died are certainly heroes who fought for their country. The big question is whether they should be there,” the Republican senator from Kentucky told NBC News on December 14. “The people who killed our soldiers must be punished. At the same time, we need to reconsider whether we should be stationing troops there in the first place.”

Syrian state television channel Syria TV reported that Syrian security services launched the operation in Palmyra against the Islamic State terrorist group, which remains active in certain regions despite losing its territorial caliphate in 2019.

US-Syria Diplomatic Response

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the attack by phone with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani on Sunday. Shibani “offered condolences and reiterated the commitment of the Syrian government to degrade and destroy the shared threat of ISIS,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

Attacker Assessment

Syria’s Interior Ministry revealed it had assessed the assailant just days before the attack, and concluded he might have extremist views. A decision about his future had been pending at the time of the attack.

Broader Counter-ISIS Operations

The US-led coalition has carried out air strikes and ground operations in Syria targeting ISIS suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces. Syria last month also carried out a nationwide campaign arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.

The United States has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to fight ISIS, which held swathes of Syria and Iraq from 2014-2019. Syria’s government is now led by former rebels who toppled leader Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, including members of Syria’s former al-Qaeda branch who broke with the group and clashed with ISIS.