Will deadly Palmyra attack accelerate SDF's integration into Syrian forces?
Following the Palmyra attack, analysts say the SDF may face growing pressure to align with Damascus.
The deaths of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter in an armed attack on Dec. 13 that Washington says was carried out by a lone Islamic State militant in Syria’s central Palmyra region will likely increase pressure on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate with Damascus, even as the incident raises questions about the new Syrian government’s leanings, analysts and regional officials said.
President Donald Trump has vowed “very serious retaliation” and described the shooting as “an ISIS attack against the US and Syria in a very dangerous part of Syria.”
Interior Minister Noureddine al-Baba revealed that the perpetrator had been a member of the Syrian security forces, saying that he was due to be fired on Sunday for harboring “extremist Islamist ideas.”
Three US servicemen who were also injured in the attack are said to be recovering.
