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3. U.S. and Syrian Soldiers Wounded as Shots Fired at Delegation

Several Syrian and American soldiers were wounded when shots were fired at a joint military delegation in Palmyra in central Syria on Saturday, state media said.

The incident is the first of its kind to be reported since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year and rekindled the country's ties with the United States.

"Several members of the American forces" were wounded in the shooting alongside "two members of the Syrian security forces," state news agency SANA said, quoting a security source.

SANA reported that the soldiers were taking part in a "joint patrol" in Palmyra, which was once under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group, and that the shooter was killed.

Helicopters evacuated the wounded to the Tanf base in southern Syria, where American troops are deployed, SANA said.

Last month, during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to Washington, Damascus formally joined the US-led global coalition against the IS group.

AFP