US Announces ‘Large-Scale’ Strikes Against IS in Syria

AFP/APP

Washington: The United States and its allies carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, the US military said on Saturday, in the latest response to a deadly attack last month that killed three Americans.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the region, said multiple strikes targeted IS positions across Syria as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike. Details on the exact locations were not disclosed.

Grainy aerial footage released by CENTCOM showed several explosions in what appeared to be rural areas. The operation was launched “in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” the command said.

Jordan’s air force also took part in the operation, carrying out targeted air strikes against IS positions, the Jordanian military said on Sunday. In a statement, it said it struck “a number of targets… in several areas within Syrian territory.”

Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed on December 13 when a lone gunman, described by Washington as an IS militant, ambushed them in Palmyra. The ancient city, home to UNESCO-listed ruins, was once controlled by the jihadist group.

Syria’s interior ministry later said the attacker was a member of the security forces who was facing dismissal over extremism.

“We will never forget, and never relent,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X on Saturday, responding to CENTCOM’s announcement.

Last month, the United States and Jordan also carried out a round of strikes in response to the Palmyra attack, with CENTCOM saying at the time that more than 70 targets were hit. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later reported that at least five IS members, including a cell leader, were killed.

On January 3, Britain and France announced joint strikes on an underground facility in Syria that they said IS had likely used to store weapons.

The US personnel targeted in Palmyra were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition formed to combat IS, which seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. While the group was later defeated territorially by local forces backed by international air power, it continues to maintain a presence in parts of Syria, particularly in the country’s vast desert regions.

US President Donald Trump has long expressed skepticism about Washington’s military presence in Syria. Although he ordered troop withdrawals during his first term, American forces remained in the country.

In April, the Pentagon announced plans to halve the number of US troops in Syria in the coming months, while US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said in June that Washington would eventually reduce its military footprint to a single base.