ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US-led global coalition and Syrian security forces came under direct gunfire while conducting a field tour in the western province of Homs on Saturday, leaving at least one killed and several others wounded.

The forces were targeted “near the city of Palmyra” while conducting a joint field patrol, resulting in “the injury of two members of Syrian security forces and a number of American personnel,” Syrian state media announced, citing a security source.

The attacker was shot dead by the security forces at the scene, the source noted. no further information is currently available regarding the circumstances or possible motives for the attack.

Syria’s state broadcaster later reported that at least one Syrian security force member was killed in the attack.

Following the incident, American helicopters evacuated the wounded personnel to the al-Tanf US military base in Rif Dimashq, southeastern Syria, according to state media.

“Traffic has been temporarily halted on the Deir ez-Zor-Damascus highway in the wake of the incident,” the source added.

The field tour marks the first by the US-led coalition in that area. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the tour reflects “a clear US strategy to strengthen its presence and influence deep within the Syrian desert.”

Syria joined the international coalition in November, becoming the body’s 90th partner to join the global fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).

The announcement was made a day after Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the US and met with US President Donald Trump, during which Washington temporarily suspended key Caesar Act sanctions on Damascus and suggested that Syria should join the coalition.

Before its rise to power, the Sharaa-led Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction fought alongside many local and international jihadist entities in the fight against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Syrian authorities now seek to bolster their relations with the West in order to normalize diplomatic relations, boost the economy, and support the country’s reconstruction, which involves joining the Western states in fighting the Islamic militant group.