American military vehicles at the Tanf base in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border (File)
UPDATE, DEC 20:
The US launched airstrikes against more than 70 Islamic State targets across central Syria on Friday, retaliating for the killing of two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter last week.
US Central Command said Jordanian fighter jets supported the operation. Donald Trump posted that the Syrian Government backed the strikes.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Damascus is maintaining its steadfast commitment to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has “no safe havens on Syrian territory”.
UPDATE, DEC 14:
The Syrian Interior Ministry says it warned the US military of a possible infiltration or attacks by the Islamic State, but the messages were ignored.
As a joint Syrian-US patrol in the Badia desert returned to base, the gunman attacked.
The Ministry said more than 5,000 men joined the Badia security forces since the fall of the Assad regime last December. The recruits were reviewed on a weekly basis.
The statement claimed the attacker was identified on Wednesday as “holding an extremist ideology”, and an assessment was issued. A decision on his status was to be taken on Sunday.
It is yet to be determined if he was part of ISIS or just held their views, the Ministry said.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, DEC 13: Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in an attack on American and Syrian personnel in Syria on Saturday.
Three others were wounded in the attack. The soldiers were conducting a joint patrol amid the Islamic State in the center of the country near the ancient city of Palmyra.
The attacker was killed by Syrian forces. Traffic on the highway between Deir ez-Zor and Damascus was halted, as US combat aircraft flew overhead.
The names of those slain are being withheld until next of kin are notified.
US helicopters evacuated the wounded to the American base at al-Tanf in eastern Syria on the border with Iraq.
