Syrian authorities said Sunday they had launched a security operation targeting Daesh terrorist group's sleeper cells in the countryside of Homs province, following an attack near Palmyra that killed three Americans near the ancient city of Palmyra, state media reported.
The state-run Alikhbariya television said the operation was carried out in response to an attack that targeted Syrian and American forces during a joint field patrol near Palmyra on Saturday.
Two U.S. troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in what the Syrian government described as a "terrorist attack" on Saturday, while Washington said it had been carried out by a Daesh terrorist who was subsequently killed.
According to the channel, the security operation focused on the areas of Furqlus, al-Qaryatayn and the surrounding desert regions of Homs province, where Daesh sleeper cells are believed to be active.
Syria's interior ministry said Sunday that the gunman was a member of the security forces who was set to be fired for extremism.
The Syrian authorities "had decided to fire" the perpetrator from the security forces before the attack for holding "extremist ideas" and had planned to do so on Sunday, interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba told state television.
A Syrian security official told AFP on Sunday that "11 members of the general security forces were arrested and brought in for questioning after the attack".
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gunman had belonged to the security forces "for more than 10 months and was posted to several cities before being transferred to Palmyra".
Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins, was controlled by Daesh at the height of its territorial expansion in Syria.
The incident is the first of its kind reported since anti-regime forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad in December last year and rekindled the country's ties with the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed "very serious retaliation" following Saturday's attack.
A Syrian defense ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity that prior to the attack, U.S. forces had "arrived by land from the direction of the Al-Tanf military base" in southeastern Syria.
"The joint Syrian-American delegation first toured the city of Palmyra, then proceeded to the T-4 airbase before returning to a base in Palmyra," the source added.
A Syrian military official who requested anonymity said on Saturday that the shots were fired "during a meeting between Syrian and American officers" at a Syrian base in Palmyra.
However, a Pentagon official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that the attack "took place in an area where the Syrian president does not have control".
In response to the attack, authorities launched an operation against Daesh terrorist group cells across Homs province, where Palmyra is located, Syrian state television said on Sunday.
U.S. Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack on Sunday said the attack only "reinforces" the U.S. strategy to "enable capable Syrian partners, with limited U.S. operational support, to hunt down ISIS networks, deny them safe haven, and prevent their resurgence".
Syria's interior ministry meanwhile said in a statement that "the continuation of terrorist attacks reflects the importance of Syria's choice to engage internationally and play an active role in combating terrorism".
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the soldiers "were conducting a key leader engagement" in support of counter-terrorism operations when the attack occurred, while Barrack said the ambush targeted "a joint U.S.-Syrian government patrol".
Trump called the incident "an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria", using another term for Daesh.
He said the three other U.S. troops wounded in the incident were "doing well".
The official SANA news agency said the attack also wounded two members of the Syrian security forces.
In an interview on state television on Saturday, the interior ministry's Baba said there had been "prior warnings from the internal security command to allied forces in the desert region".
"The international coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings of a possible Daesh infiltration into consideration," he said.
Daesh seized swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014 during Syria's civil war, before being territorially defeated in the country five years later. Its fighters still maintain a presence, however, particularly in Syria's vast desert.
U.S. forces operate in northeast Syria as part of an international coalition against Daesh, which was formed under U.S. leadership in 2014.
Last month, during Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's historic visit to Washington, Damascus formally joined the U.S.-led global coalition against Daesh.
The coalition has carried out military operations against Daesh in Syria and Iraq since its formation, involving several countries, though Damascus was not previously a party to it.
Since the overthrow of the former regime of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria's new administration has been seeking to restore security and stabilize conditions across the country.
