ALBAWABA - According to local and monitoring sources, a joint patrol of U.S. and Syrian security forces was shot at heavily near the ancient city of Palmyra on Saturday. Two American soldiers were critically hurt and two Syrian security officers were killed. The attack also hurt a lot of other people.
During the gunfight, the attacker was killed. We still don't know who he is or why he did it. U.S. helicopters were sent to take the injured to the al-Tanf base in southern Syria, where American troops are stationed.
The attack happened while the joint team was in the area to check on operations against the last remnants of the Islamic State group. The Damascus–Deir ez-Zor highway was temporarily closed after the incident, and U.S. planes flew low over Palmyra a lot, which worried people who lived there.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the patrol quickly left the area because security was tight and people were on high alert in nearby districts.
People in Palmyra saw U.S. fighter jets flying low and dropping flare countermeasures. At the same time, Syrian government forces made checkpoints stricter and gunfire could be heard in several nearby areas. People are even more unsure about what happened during the attack because there have been no official statements.
