Syrian who killed Americans was part of security forces

US forces patrol oil fields in Syria, October 28, 2019. BADERKHAN AHMAD / AP

Syria's interior ministry said Sunday, December 14 that the gunman who killed three Americans in the central Palmyra region the previous day was a member of the security forces who was set to be fired for extremism.

Two US troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in what the Syrian government described as a "terrorist attack" on Saturday, while Washington said it had been carried out by an Islamic State group (IS) militant who was subsequently killed.

The Syrian authorities "had decided to fire" the perpetrator from the security forces before the attack for holding "extremist Islamist ideas" and had planned to do so on Sunday, Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told state television.

A Syrian security official told AFP on Sunday that "11 members of the general security forces were arrested and brought in for questioning after the attack."