There will likely be an aggressive U.S. strike against ISIS locations "in retaliation" for the killing of two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Syria by a suspected Islamic State attacker, said Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst and vice chair of the America First Policy Institute.
"There is an ISIS presence in Syria the government does not control," Fleitz told Newsmax's "Newsline."
"I think there will be an aggressive U.S. strike against these ISIS locations in retaliation."
The attack happened barely a month after Syria announced it signed a political cooperation agreement with the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, which coincided with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's visit to the White House.
The attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces, three local officials told Reuters.
A Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson told a state-run TV channel that the man did not have a leadership role in the security forces.
The attack "was another indication Syria is a dangerous and unstable nation," said Fleitz.
"You know, [former] President Bashar al-Assad used to be a member of al-Qaida, but President [Donald] Trump decided to give him a chance because the Saudi crown prince asked him to.
"And because the threat of Syria becoming an ungoverned space after the fall of the Assad government was a real threat, we don't want ISIS to come in and take advantage of a power vacuum.
"The problem is, al-Sharaa put foreign fighters into a security services, and apparently one of them is the suspected gunman in this case. So, there are a lot of problems to resolve," he added.
U.S. officials made no reference in their statements to the gunman being a member of the Syrian security forces.
When asked about the matter, a Pentagon official did not directly respond to the question but said, "This attack took place in an area where the Syrian president does not have control."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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