Palmyra attack exposes security fragility, extremist infiltration within government institutions

US forces in the Palmyra (Tadmor) area, which is under the control of Syria’s transitional government, were attacked during a security meeting with government officials, resulting in the death of three Americans, including two soldiers and a civilian interpreter.

Since the operation took place on 13 December, accounts of the Palmyra (Tadmor) incident have changed multiple times, particularly regarding the identity and background of the perpetrator, who may be behind the attack, and how it was carried out with such impact against US forces, in the absence of any claim of responsibility by ISIS mercenaries.

The latest information attributed to US and Syrian officials indicates that the attacker was a member of the transitional government’s forces who “was on the verge of being dismissed after it was discovered that he held extremist views.”

The Wall Street Journal quoted Aaron Zelin, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington, as saying that the individual’s name was Tareq al-Hamad and that he had “previously worked within ISIS ranks.”

The ambiguity of events and inconsistencies in their narration have fueled suspicions that the matter may go beyond mere security negligence, especially as the incident was followed by an attack on government forces in Idlib. One prominent possibility is that the operation resulted from internal dissent by elements opposed to rapprochement between the government and international powers.

A significant operation highlighting the danger of terrorist infiltration within government forces

Egyptian researcher on Islamist groups and terrorism affairs Mounir Adeeb told ANHA agency: “This is a significant operation and marks the beginning of ISIS reasserting itself in Syria, particularly as it coincides with the passage of a full year since the fall of the former political regime. There is also another symbolic dimension: the individual who carried out the attack may belong to Syria’s General Security, which clearly indicates that many within General Security have ties to jihadist organizations, especially ISIS.”

He added: “ISIS now dominates the scene in Syria. It is true that the fall of the ISIS state was declared by President Donald Trump during his first term, but the organization still exists through lone wolves and cells, some active and others dormant.”

Sensitive timing and strategic geography

Adeeb continued: “The organization is now announcing its presence by carrying out an operation at a time that appears sensitive and in a location that is strategically important, Palmyra (Tadmor), where the group has operated for years. It is a historic city, and the attack took place during a meeting between Syrian security forces and the international coalition or its representatives. Striking this meeting in such a manner suggests that the organization is returning forcefully through a lone wolf or a suicide-style operation carried out by an ISIS member.”

He argued that “we are likely to witness further high-impact operations by ISIS in the coming period. These operations will not be limited to Syria, the Arab region, or territories previously occupied by the group in Iraq, but will also extend to other locations, including European countries. I believe that what happened in Sydney may be linked to what occurred in Syria and could mark the beginning of lone-wolf activity across many Arab and other countries. This represents the start of a tactical phase, with similarities between the events in Sydney and Tadmor, bearing the same ISIS fingerprints and signaling the beginning of lone-wolf movements across wide geographic areas regionally and internationally.”

A difficult confrontation requiring security and intelligence coordination

He concluded by noting that “confronting these risks appears difficult, as it involves lone cells and unpredictable movements by individuals affiliated with this extremist organization. When the group succeeded in establishing its state in 2014 until its fall, it was a visible organization occupying territory, yet it still took the international coalition five full years to eliminate that state. Today, the challenge is far greater and more complex, as we are dealing with hidden lone wolves. This requires extensive security and intelligence coordination among all countries worldwide in order to fully eliminate these threats.”

A-H 

ANHA