Washington, DC: The US, along with “partner forces” launched large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria early on Sunday (IST).
“These strikes are part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched and announced on Dec 19, 2025, at the direction of President Trump, in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria, on Dec. 13, 2025,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X.
“That ambush, carried out by an ISIS terrorist, resulted in the tragic deaths of two American soldiers and one US civilian interpreter,” the department added.
Syria’s interior ministry had later said the gunman was a member of the security forces who had been set to be fired for extremism.
“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” the US CENTCOM said without sharing specifics on where it’s strikes took place.
The post had a grainy aerial video showing several separate explosions, apparently in rural areas, as reported by MInt.
The US and Jordan carried out a round of strikes last month in response to the Palmyra attack, with CENTCOM saying at the time that “more than 70 targets” had been hit.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, claimed that those strikes killed at least five IS members, including a cell leader.
On January 3, Britain and France announced joint strikes targeting an underground facility they said IS had likely used to store weapons.
US president Donald Trump has long been sceptical of Washington’s presence in Syria, ordering the withdrawal of troops during his first term but ultimately leaving American forces in the country.
The Pentagon announced in April, 2025 that the US would halve the number of personnel in Syria in the following months, while US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said in June that Washington would eventually reduce its bases in the country to one.
