Four Syrian security personnel killed in northwest Idlib attack

Four members of Syria’s security forces were shot dead in the country’s northwest on Sunday, state media reported.

According to the interior ministry statement, the victims belonged to the road security department of the interior ministry. Their patrol was attacked while on duty along the Maaret al-Numan road in Idlib province, leaving a fifth officer wounded.

The state-run SANA news agency said gunmen opened fire on the security personnel, though neither the ministry nor SANA identified the assailants.

Idlib had previously been a stronghold for rebel and jihadist factions, including foreign fighters, before Islamist-led forces ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad in a rapid offensive last December.

The attack comes a day after an assault on a joint US-Syrian patrol in Palmyra, central Syria killed two American soldiers and a translator.

US President Donald Trump called the incident “an ISIS attack against the US, and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria”, using another term for the Islamic State group (IS), and vowed “very serious retaliation”.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani called the Saturday attack “a new challenge in the fight against terrorism”.

Syria’s new authorities are trying to stabilise the country after over a decade of civil war.

Following Saturday’s attack, authorities launched an operation against IS group cells across the Homs province, where Palmyra is located.

A US-led coalition has at times carried out strikes on the Idlib region, usually saying it is targeting IS officials.

With inputs from agencies