"The attack "exposes holes in the Syrian government's intelligence capabilities, a known vulnerability given the shortages of personnel and resources, and the country's geographic instability," Syrian researcher and journalist Subhi Franjieh wrote for London-based media outlet Al Majalla shortly afterward. "The Palmyra attack may be used to argue that the Syrian government is compromised and cannot be trusted in key areas like counterterrorism.""
"Just under a week after the killings of the Americans in Palmyra, the "IS" group published a message on its Telegram channel describing the deaths as a "blow" to the US and to any Syrians opposed to it. It did not, however, claim direct responsibility, and it seems that similarly to the two men who recently targeted a Jewish gathering in Australia the attack may have been "inspired" by the extremist group."
Two US soldiers and a civilian translator were killed in central Syria by an attacker who had infiltrated Syrian security forces. The incident raises questions about how many other security personnel might hold extremist sympathies. The attack exposed gaps in Syrian intelligence capabilities linked to shortages of personnel, limited resources, and geographic instability. The incident undermines confidence in Syria's counterterrorism capacity. Syria joined the US-led coalition against the Islamic State in November, but international partners currently coordinate only with the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Defense remains not fully established or secure. Islamic State praised the deaths without claiming direct responsibility.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]