DAMASCUS — Shots were fired at Syrian and U.S. forces on Saturday during a visit by American troops to a historic central town, wounding several people, Syria’s state media and a war monitor said.
The shooting occurred near Palmyra, according to the state-run SANA news agency, which reported that two members of Syria’s security forces and several U.S. service members were wounded.
The injured were evacuated by helicopter to the al-Tanf garrison near the borders with Iraq and Jordan.
SANA said the attacker was killed, without providing further details.
A U.S. defense official told The Associated Press that the military was aware of the reports but had no immediate information to provide. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three Syrian security personnel and several U.S. troops were wounded, adding that the attacker was a member of the Syrian security force.
The United States has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of an international coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Last month, Syria joined the coalition as Damascus moved to improve relations with Western countries following last year’s fall of Bashar Assad after insurgents captured the capital.
The U.S. had no diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have warmed since the end of the Assad family’s five-decade rule. Syria’s president Ahmad al-Sharaa visited Washington last month and held talks with President Donald Trump.
Although IS was defeated in Syria in 2019, the group’s sleeper cells continue to carry out attacks. The United Nations estimates IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. forces, including those stationed at the al-Tanf garrison in the central province of Homs, have been targeted in the past.
One of the deadliest attacks occurred in 2019 in the northern town of Manbij, when a blast killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians during a patrol. — Agencies
