Gunman in Syria who targeted U.S. troops believed to be ISIS infiltrator, sources say

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The shooter who ambushed U.S. and Syrian troops, sidesplitting 2 American soldiers and 1 civilian who was serving arsenic an interpreter, is believed to person been an Islamic State infiltrator moving arsenic portion of a section information force, aggregate sources told CBS News.

The shooting happened during a ngo by U.S. and Syrian forces successful a historical cardinal municipality adjacent Palmyra connected Saturday. President Trump and U.S. subject officials attributed the onslaught to ISIS. Two members of Syria's information unit were wounded.

Sources told CBS News that the section information unit was successful the Badia, which falls nether the power of the Syrian government.

U.S. Central Command said successful a connection connected Saturday that the "gunman was engaged and killed." Mr. Trump connected Saturday vowed that the U.S. would retaliate.

"This was an ISIS onslaught against the U.S., and Syria, successful a precise unsafe portion of Syria, that is not afloat controlled by them," Mr. Trump wrote successful a post connected Truth Social. "The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is highly aggravated and disturbed by this attack. There volition beryllium precise superior retaliation."

No radical has claimed work for the attack, and the individuality of the gunman has not been released.

Syria's interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba told authorities tv connected Sunday that Syrian authorities "had decided to occurrence him" from the information forces earlier the onslaught for holding "extremist Islamist ideas" and had planned to bash truthful connected Sunday. A Syrian information authoritative told Agence France-Presse connected Sunday that "11 members of the wide information forces were arrested and brought successful for questioning aft the attack."

Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent called the shooting "an insider violent attack."

Saturday's onslaught was the archetypal with fatalities since the autumn of Syrian President Bashar Assad a twelvemonth ago.

The U.S. has hundreds of troops deployed successful eastbound Syria arsenic portion of a conjugation warring the Islamic State radical and to hinder Iranian influence. Currently, astir 900 troops are stationed there. They are chiefly posted successful the Kurdish-controlled northeast and astatine the al-Tanf basal successful the southeastern godforsaken adjacent the borders with Iraq and Jordan.

Palmyra, location to UNESCO-listed past ruins, was controlled by ISIS astatine the tallness of its territorial enlargement successful Syria.

The U.S. had nary diplomatic relations with Syria nether Assad, but ties person warmed since the autumn of the five-decade Assad household rule. The interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, made a historic visit to Washington past month, wherever helium held talks with Mr. Trump.

AFP and Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.