Syria
Syrian security forces during a military operation in the city of Palmyra, east of Syria’s central Homs province, on December 14, 2025. Photo: Intrior ministry
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four members of the Syrian security forces were killed and another was injured in an armed attack in southern Idlib province on Sunday, the Ministry of Interior reported.
The ministry said in a statement that the assault occurred on a patrol conducting its duties along the Maarat al-Numan road, south of Idlib. It added that “competent security units are currently conducting intensive sweeping operations in the area to pursue those involved in the attack.”
The state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the gunmen opened fire on members of the security forces. None of the sources has disclosed the identity of the attackers.
The attack comes just a day after two US soldiers and a civilian were killed in an ambush in Syria’s central Homs province, while three other American soldiers and two Syrian security members were wounded.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that the attack was carried out by a single Islamic State (ISIS) attacker who was engaged and killed.
The US team targeted in the attack were based at the al-Tanf military base, located near the tri-border area of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. A US military source in Syria told Rudaw on Saturday that the team was in Tadmur (Palmyra), east of Homs province, for a meeting with Syrian armed forces affiliated with the defense ministry.
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that there will be “very serious retaliation” following the attack. “We will retaliate,” Trump told reporters at the White House. He added that the nation is mourning “the loss of the three great American patriots” and praying for the three wounded, who “seem to be doing pretty well.”
Al-Sharaa extended his "deepest condolences" to US President Donald Trump following the “tragic loss of American soldiers killed in the countryside of Homs,” SANA reported.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior said on Sunday that its forces, together with the US-led Global Coalition, launched an operation against ISIS sleeper cells, resulting in the arrest of five suspects who were immediately placed under interrogation.
Syria officially joined the US-led coalition against ISIS in November following a landmark meeting between US President Donald Trump and Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, the first such encounter with a Syrian president in more than eight decades.
ISIS seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014 but was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, two years after its defeat in Iraq. The group has since continued insurgent attacks and has sought to regain ground.
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