The Syrian government launched a security operation on Sunday against cells of the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) in the Syrian desert in response to yesterday's terrorist attack in Palmyra, in the center of the country, which killed two US soldiers and their civilian interpreter, according to official media reports.

“A security operation has been launched against Islamic State cells in the areas of Al Furqlus, Al Qaryatayn, and Al Badia, on the outskirts of Homs, in response to the terrorist attack in Palmyra,” stated the Syrian state television channel Al Ikhbariya, which has not yet provided further details.

Last night, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba asserted on state television that the perpetrator of the attack, who was killed, “does not hold any leadership position within the Internal Security Forces,” although an investigation is underway “to determine whether he is affiliated with ISIS or simply shares the organization’s ideology,” al-Baba said.

Islamic State remains silent

According to the Syrian spokesman, the attack took place at the entrance to a headquarters and command center in the Palmyra desert, near the city of Homs, located about 200 kilometers northeast of Damascus, where a suspected ISIS member opened fire on “a joint patrol of the international coalition command and the Internal Security Forces command in the region,” according to details provided by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which reported on Saturday an “ambush perpetrated by a lone gunman from the Islamic State in Syria.” Trump attributed the attack to ISIS and said it was “against the United States and Syria, in a very dangerous area of ??Syria that is not totally under their control.” However, the Syrian Presidency has not issued any statement, and the Islamic State has not yet claimed responsibility for this action. ISIS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, although there have been several warnings that the threat from the terrorist organization remains latent in various parts of the central Syrian desert.which extends across several provinces of the country.