Missiles: US Launches Massive Strike on IS in Syria
The US launched a massive strike on IS targets in Syria, firing over 100 precision munitions in retaliation for a deadly attack on American forces.
The US says it has launched a "large-scale attack" against the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria, in retaliation for a deadly attack on US forces in the country.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery struck "more than 70 targets at multiple locations in central Syria." Jordanian aircraft also participated in the operation.
It said the operation "employed more than 100 precision weapons," targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons depots.
President Donald Trump said that following the IS ambush in the city of Palmyra on December 13, which killed two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter, "we are hitting IS strong."
In a statement on X, CENTCOM – which directs US military operations in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, and Central and South Asia – said Operation Hawkeye Strike began at 16:00 Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) on Friday.
Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said the US "will continue to relentlessly pursue those terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners throughout the region."
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told that "at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed" in the Deir ez-Zor province of eastern Syria, including the leader of a cell responsible for drone operations in the area.
Jordan's state news agency Petra announced that the Royal Jordanian Air Force had participated in the strikes to "prevent extremist groups from threatening the security of Syria's neighbors and the wider region."
IS has not publicly commented. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was "not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of retribution."
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"If you target Americans anywhere in the world – you will spend the rest of your short, miserable life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you mercilessly.
"Today, we hunted down and killed our enemies. Many of them. And we will continue to do so," the US Defense Secretary added.
Posting on Truth Social, President Trump said the US was "taking very serious retaliatory action against the responsible terrorist killers, as I promised."
He said the Syrian government was "fully supportive." Centcom had earlier said the deadly attack in Palmyra was carried out by an ISIS gunman, who was "cornered and killed."
Three other US soldiers were wounded in the attack, which a Pentagon official said "occurred in an area not under the control of the Syrian president."
Meanwhile, the SOHR said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the gunman's identity has not been released.
In 2019, the US-backed coalition of Syrian fighters declared that ISIS had lost its last territory under its control in Syria, but the jihadist group has since carried out several attacks.
The UN says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
US troops have been in Syria since 2015 as part of the campaign against ISIS, helping to train other forces.
Syria recently joined an international coalition to fight ISIS and has pledged to cooperate with the US. In November, Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara – a former jihadist leader whose coalition forces had overthrown Bashar al-Assad's government in 2024 – met with Trump at the White House, describing his visit as part of "a new era" for both countries.
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