ISIS ambush and extremist elements of Syrian forces cause alarm in Washington

President Donald Trump attended a solemn ceremony marking the return of the bodies of two US soldiers and an interpreter who were killed in an ISIS ambush, with questions mounting in Washington about America's role in Syria and its support of the new government.

Mr Trump met privately with the mens' families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, four days after they were shot in Palmyra by a member of Syria's internal security forces with ISIS ties.

Their deaths have prompted renewed calls for the US to pull its about 900 remaining troops from Syria. And some prominent Republicans appear to be growing nervous about America's support for Damascus, with concerns growing over whether President Ahmad Al Shara can bring security to the fractured country.

Influential Republicans have been sceptical of Mr Trump's embrace of Mr Al Shara and the lifting of all sanctions, saying they would prefer to wait and see how Syria's new leader governs.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent conservative voice on US foreign policy and a close ally of Mr Trump, this week sounded a cautious tone on Syria, saying there is increasing evidence that its security forces are more radical than Damascus claims.

"While I support trying to help this new government in Syria, we have to do it with eyes wide open," he said on X, adding that Israel is correct to push for secure zones in southern Syria.

"Israel is right to insist on security zones protecting not just Israel, but also minorities in Syria like the Druze."

Syria's Druze religious community in the country's south has seen clashes with government-aligned Syrian forces, particularly in Sweida.

Mr Graham's remarks highlight concerns over a widely circulated video that showing Syrian forces chanting anti-Israel slogans at a parade in Damascus in front of Mr Al Shara.

Reacting to the video, which Mr Graham referred to in his post, Amichai Chikli, Israel's Minister of Diaspora and Combating Anti-Semitism, posted a chilling warning on X: “War is inevitable.”

Mr Chikli had called Syria a "full-blown jihadist terror state", pointing to the killings of members of the Druze and Alawite communities among other issues.

Walid Phares, a former foreign policy adviser to Mr Trump, said a demilitarised zone should be a condition of any agreement between Israel and Syria.

A deal should also include “self-determination” for large parts of Syria, he said, including