Khaberni - A security source confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Sunday that the perpetrator of the attack that targeted a joint military delegation in central Syria was a member of the Public Security apparatus, and that the authorities arrested more than 11 members of the same apparatus and referred them for investigation following the attack.
The source, who requested anonymity, said "the perpetrator of the Palmyra attack was a member of the Public Security affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Interior for more than ten months, and worked with the Public Security in more than one city before being transferred to the city of Palmyra."
He also mentioned that "more than 11 members affiliated with the Public Security were arrested and referred for investigation immediately following the incident."
This is the first time such an incident has occurred since the rise to power of opposition factions led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham a year ago, which took steps toward rapprochement with the United States over the past months.
The spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Nour El Din El Baba, noted that the perpetrator of the attack was affiliated with the Public Security forces, and there was a measure planned against him to exclude him, according to a previous security assessment.
He remarked in a statement to official television, "An assessment was issued because he might possess extremist or takfiri ideas, and there was a decision to be issued (...) against him."
The spokesperson clarified that the internal security leadership in the Al-Badiyah region comprises more than five thousand members, and undergoes a weekly evaluation mechanism, based on which organizational and security measures are taken as needed.
After the collapse of the internal security devices and the police following the overthrow of the former government, the new authorities widely opened doors for volunteering to fill the security vacuum.
In the initial months of their governance, thousands of new members joined the security apparatuses, amid a rapid restructuring of security institutions across various regions.
The authorities established a new army that includes members from allied factions, following the dissolution of those factions at the request of the new leadership.
President Donald Trump pledged on Saturday to respond to the attack, describing the area where the attack occurred as "very dangerous" and not fully under the control of the Syrian authorities.
The US Central Command in the Middle East confirmed the death of the attacker and the injury of three other soldiers, indicating that the delegation was in Palmyra as part of a support mission for ongoing operations against the ISIS terrorist organization.
Damascus condemned the attack, describing it as "terrorist," and offered condolences to the government and people of the United States.
El Baba said, "There were prior warnings from the internal security leadership to the allied forces in the Al-Badiyah region," adding in a conversation with official television that "the international coalition forces did not consider the Syrian warnings of a potential ISIS breach."
The ISIS terrorist group previously controlled the city of Palmyra in 2015 and 2016 as part of its expansion of influence in the Syrian Al-Badiyah.
Damascus officially joined the international coalition against the ISIS terrorist organization during the visit of Syrian President Ahmed Al Shar'a to Washington last month.
