A problem arises after the recent killing of two American soldiers and a civilian translator in central Syria by a supporter of the Islamic State group. The perpetrator was an intruder from the Syrian security forces. How many other members of this body might hold similar extremist views?
The attack “highlights deficiencies in the Syrian government’s intelligence capabilities, a known vulnerability given the country’s lack of personnel and resources as well as its geographical instability,” Syrian researcher and journalist Subhi Franjieh wrote shortly afterwards for the London media outlet Al Majalla.
Franjieh goes on to say that although Syria joined the US-led global coalition fighting the Islamic State in November 2025, this international alliance has so far only cooperated with the Syrian Interior Ministry and not the Defense Ministry. The latter is not yet fully understood and is not certain.
Barely a week after the Americans were killed in Palmyra, the Islamic State group posted a message on its Telegram channel calling the deaths a “blow” to the United States and every Syrian who opposes the group. But no direct responsibility has been claimed and it could be that, like the two men who recently attacked a Jewish gathering in Australia, the attack was “inspired” by the extremist group.
Soldiers who sympathize with the Islamic State?
The Experts agree there may be more cases of members of the Syrian security forces sympathizing with or taking inspiration from the Islamic State group. They claim that one of the main problems is that the Syrian government is trying hard to build a new army after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in December 2024.
Shortly after the attack in Palmyra, an Interior Ministry spokesman said that 5,000 recruits had just joined the forces in the area where the attack occurred. When the Islamic State group was at the height of its power, it controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq, including Palmyra.
According to this spokesman, new personnel assessments are conducted weekly and the man who killed the Americans and a Syrian officer was on a watch list. He was due to be released the day after the attack.
Jerome Drevon, an expert on Islamist militancy at the International Crisis Group, said last week that the new Syrian authorities would be forced to choose between quickly recruiting people and a slower, more intensive selection process. Ultimately, they settled on the fastest option, as Drevon explained to the British publication The Arabic weekly newspaperSome of his recruits may be “more radical and willing to fight against American troops because they oppose the government’s decision to move to Western countries.”
Additionally, as Masood Al Hakari, a researcher at the Frankfurt Peace Research Institute, wrote in early 2025, the militia called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led by interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, was previously linked to both the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda. Over time, HTS severed its ties with these groups and even fought the Islamic State in the areas it controlled, but as Al Hakari notes, HTS will likely “continue to harbor extremists sympathetic to the Islamic State’s ideology.”
The Islamic State is hiding in the Syrian desert
There are an estimated 2,500 IS fighters left in Iraq and Syria, most of them in hiding or dormant cells. The remote Syrian desert has long been one of his favorite places.
Over the weekend, the US carried out more than 70 strikes in Syria, most of them in remote areas north of Palmyra. US President Donald Trump said the US raids were “very serious retaliation” for the attack on Palmyra. Five people were reportedly killed in this attack.
There are thousands of former members of the Islamic State in prison camps in northern Syria who pose a danger, explains Al Hakari from the HSFK. However, according to him and other experts, the most important factor that makes the Islamic State group such a threat is the country’s economic, political and security environment.
The Syrian dictatorship was overthrown after 14 years of civil war and the new authorities still do not have full control over security in the country. In some areas there were clashes between the new authorities and minority communities, exacerbating security problems. The difficult economic situation is also causing discontent.
All of this “creates fertile ground for IS to exploit government gaps and public unrest, position itself as an alternative form of government and expand its influence,” says Al Hakari. Since the change in government, Islamic State attacks on government districts have increased, and other experts note that the group’s followers now appear to be intent on undermining the new authorities.
(ms/ct)
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