Five suspects arrested in Syria over attack on US-Syrian convoy in central Syria

The Interior Ministry has arrested five suspects in an attack on a convoy of US and Syrian forces in the central Syrian city of Palmyra. The attacker opened fire on the convoy on Saturday (December 13). Two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in the attack. The attacker was later killed in return fire by security forces.
The Syrian Interior Ministry said the attacker was a member of the country’s security forces and is suspected of being sympathetic to the Islamic State (IS). The ministry also said that five suspects were arrested in a coordinated operation in Palmyra with international coalition forces. They have been immediately sent for questioning.
Five other US and Syrian service members were wounded in the attack. US President Donald Trump said that the three US soldiers are now in good health. Washington has been blaming IS for the attack since the beginning. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke by phone with Syrian Foreign Minister Asad al-Shibani. Shibani expressed condolences for the victims and reiterated the Syrian government’s commitment to defeating ISIS.
The United States has deployed troops to northeastern Syria as part of a more than decade-long campaign to defeat the Islamic State. Last month, more than 70 ISIS suspects were arrested in nationwide raids in Syria.