An attack took place on Saturday against personnel of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State inside Syria who were holding a meeting with the Syrian government’s internal security forces in the Badiya [desert] region of central Syria near the town of Palmyra.
There are issues with the ideological direction being given to members of the new military and security apparatuses, and as this incident demonstrates, there are likely to be some pro-Islamic State infiltrators seeking to commit attacks from within.
What follows is a transcript, based on a TV interview, of the only statement made so far on the matter by Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Nur al-Din al-Baba. His remarks suggest that the attack was committed by someone inside the security forces who at least harboured pro-Islamic State ideas.
Although supporters of the Syrian government sometimes like to throw accusations at the former regime and the SDF for reported recruitment of former Islamic State members, the fact is that the current government itself also has former Islamic State members in the ranks of its military and security forces. More broadly, there are issues with the ideological direction being given to members of the new military and security apparatuses, and as this incident demonstrates, there are likely to be some pro-Islamic State infiltrators seeking to commit attacks from within.
Below is the transcript in translation.
In the beginning, there were advance warnings issued by the Internal Security command in the Badiya area to the partner forces in the international coalition, that there were preliminary reports suggesting there might be a penetration or expected attacks from the Daesh [Islamic State] organisation, but these forces did not take the Syrian warnings into consideration. Today [Saturday] there was a joint tour between the international coalition’s leadership in Syria and the Internal Security command in the Badiya. The tour ended and they entered a fortified and special security base of the Internal Security command in the Badiya.
There will be new protocol measures for security and protection, and mobilisation by the international coalition in coordination with the Internal Security.
At the gate of this base, an attack took place, committed by someone affiliated with Daesh organisation. This person clashed with the guards of the Syrian forces and those affiliated with the international coalition, leading to his neutralisation after he wounded a number of people in the ranks of Syrian Internal Security forces and the ranks of the international coalition’s forces. Subsequently, or just a little while before, the international coalition said that two soldiers and a translator were killed, and two were injured from the Syrian Internal Security forces. It should be noted that the perpetrator held no leadership position in the Internal Security, nor was he classed as an attendant to a leader in the Internal Security as has been claimed in inaccurate reports.
Of course there are more than 5000 personnel in the ranks of the Internal Security under the Internal Security command in the Badiya area. On a weekly basis, there are assessments of the personnel, and procedures are taken on the basis of these assessments. On the 10th of this month, it was assessed that this perpetrator might have takfiri or extremist ideas. Subhanullah, a decision was going to be issued against him on Sunday- the first working day of the week- but God decreed that the attack should take place on Saturday which is administratively considered a day-off.
The procedures will be based on examining the digital data of the Daesh member who carried out the attack. And it will be checked whether he had a direct organisational link to the Daesh organisation or whether he just held their ideas. There will also be an examination of the circle of contacts and relatives of the person who attacked the Syrian forces and the international coalition’s forces. There will be new protocol measures for security and protection, and mobilisation by the international coalition in coordination with the Internal Security.
