Deadly strike on US troops tests Trump’s counter-ISIS plan — and his trust in Syria’s new leader

By Fox News · Fox News

A deadly insider attack that killed two U.S. service members in Syria is prompting fresh scrutiny of the Trump administration’s counter-ISIS approach and its rapid embrace of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. While Republican lawmakers largely urge a stronger campaign to contain ISIS, the shooting has exposed vulnerabilities inside Syria’s fledgling security institutions and raised new questions about whether the U.S. can rely on Syrian forces as the administration seeks to stabilize the country. The incident has now become a flashpoint in a broader debate: whether the administration is underestimating ISIS’s resilience, overestimating the reliability of Syria’s fledgling institutions, and potentially risking a withdrawal that could give the terror group room to rebound. 2 US ARMY SOLDIERS, INTERPRETER KILLED IN SYRIA AMBUSH ATTACK, TRUMP WARNS OF 'VERY SERIOUS RETALIATION' Syrian officials say the gunman was part of the new post-Assad security apparatus and had been flagged internally for extremist leanings. He reportedly was in the process of being reassigned when he opened fire on American personnel, killing two service members and injuring an American civilian before being shot dead. The attack immediately raised questions about the strength of U.S.–Syrian cooperation — a partnership that hinges on Washington’s willingness to trust a government led by a man who was, until recently, a wanted terrorist himself. Trump officials have argued that al-Sharaa is essential to stabilizing Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, but critics say the weekend shooting reveals glaring cracks in that strategy. TRUMP TO HOST SYRIAN PRESIDENT IN HISTORIC WHITE HOUSE MEETING AMID PUSH FOR REGIONAL PEACE Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks defended Trump’s approach, saying on Fox News that the president "rooted out and took out the ISIS caliphate in his first term" and "is going to do that again" in his second. But Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Serv…