US Launches Massive Strikes on Islamic State in Syria Following Deadly Attack

The United States carried out a large-scale military operation against Islamic State targets in central Syria following a deadly ambush that killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter. The strikes, involving US and Jordanian aircraft and more than 100 precision munitions, hit over 70 IS targets, as Washington vowed to continue pursuing militants responsible for attacks on American forces.

The United States has announced that its military carried out what it described as a “massive strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, following a deadly attack on American forces stationed in the country.
According to the US Central Command (Centcom), the operation involved fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery, which struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria. The strikes also involved aircraft from Jordan. Centcom said the operation made use of more than 100 precision-guided munitions aimed at known IS infrastructure, weapons depots and operational sites.
President Donald Trump said the United States was “striking very strongly” at IS strongholds in response to the ambush carried out on 13 December in the historic city of Palmyra. That attack resulted in the deaths of two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter.
In a statement posted on X, Centcom said the military action, named Operation Hawkeye Strike, was launched at 16:00 Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) on Friday. The command, which oversees US military operations across the Middle East, north-east Africa, and parts of central and southern Asia, said the strikes were part of efforts to prevent IS from carrying out further attacks.
Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said the United States would continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and US partners in the region. He stressed that those responsible for attacks on US forces would be held accountable.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told AFP news agency that at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed during the strikes in eastern Syria’s Deir ez Zor province. He added that those killed included the leader of an IS cell responsible for drone operations in the area.
Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency reported that the Royal Jordanian Air Force took part in the operation. The agency said the strikes were aimed at preventing extremist groups from threatening the security of Syria’s neighbouring countries and the wider region.
The Islamic State group has not issued any public comment on the strikes, and the BBC said it was unable to independently verify the targets that were hit.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the operation as an act of vengeance rather than the start of a broader war. He said that anyone who targets Americans anywhere in the world would spend the rest of their lives knowing the United States would hunt them down and kill them. He added that US forces had hunted and killed many of their enemies and would continue to do so.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, President Trump said the United States was inflicting “very serious retaliation” on the terrorists responsible for the attack. He also claimed that the Syrian government was fully supportive of the operation.
Earlier, Centcom said the deadly ambush in Palmyra was carried out by an IS gunman who was subsequently engaged and killed. Three additional US soldiers were injured during the attack. A Pentagon official said the incident occurred in an area not under the control of Syria’s president. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces.
No group has formally claimed responsibility for the Palmyra attack, and the identity of the gunman has not been made public.
Although a US-backed alliance of Syrian fighters announced in 2019 that Islamic State had lost the last pocket of territory it controlled in Syria, the group has continued to carry out sporadic attacks. The United Nations estimates that IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters operating in Syria and Iraq.
US troops have been present in Syria since 2015, where they have helped train local forces as part of the international campaign against IS. Syria has recently joined an international coalition aimed at combating the group and has pledged to cooperate with the United States.
In November, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist leader whose coalition forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s government in 2024, met President Trump at the White House. Al-Sharaa described the visit as marking the beginning of a “new era” in relations between Syria and the United States.