US Military Strikes ISIS Targets in Syria

Major Attacks Against ISIS in Syria

The United States Armed Forces, alongside their partners, have conducted extensive strikes against targets belonging to the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria, as announced by the US Central Command (Centcom). President Donald Trump ordered these strikes on Saturday as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, in response to a deadly attack by ISIS on American forces in Syria on December 13, according to a post by Centcom on platform X.

The strikes were carried out to combat terrorism and to protect both American and partner forces in the region, Centcom added. "Our message remains clear: if you harm our soldiers, we will find you and eliminate you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice," Centcom stated.

American and partner forces launched over 90 precision munitions against more than 35 targets in an operation involving more than 20 aircraft. This included F-15E, A-10, AC-130J, MQ-9, and Jordanian F-16s. The locations of the strikes and any potential casualties have not yet been clarified.

American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, wrote on X regarding the military action: "We will never forget and we will not back down." The Trump administration first announced Operation Hawkeye Strike in December, following an ISIS sniper attack that killed two American soldiers and an American civilian interpreter in an ambush in Palmyra, located in central Syria. "This is not the beginning of a war - it is a declaration of vengeance," Hegseth stated when announcing the operation in December.

"The United States of America, under President Trump, will not hesitate or back down in defending its citizens," he added. Prior to the recent strikes on Saturday, American forces had killed or captured nearly 25 ISIS members in 11 missions between December 20 and 29, according to Centcom. In the first mission of the operation, on December 19, American and Jordanian forces conducted a "massive assault" against the ISIS group, employing fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery to strike "over 70 targets in multiple locations in central Syria." This operation utilized "over 100 precision munitions" aimed at known ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites.