Jordan air force says it joined U.S. strikes on ISIS targets in Syria

Jordanian authorities said Saturday that the Jordanian air force participated in U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State targets in southern Syria, in retaliation for the killing of three U.S. citizens earlier this month. The disclosure adds a new dimension to a widening coalition effort that has included air and ground operations across multiple sites in Syria.

U.S. Central Command said its forces struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery, with the Jordanian air force providing support by flying fighter aircraft. The operation, launched Friday, followed a deadly attack in which a gunman affiliated with Islamic State killed two U.S. troops and a civilian interpreter near Palmyra, Syria.

The Jordanian military said the operation aimed to prevent extremist groups from exploiting these areas as launching pads to threaten Syria’s neighbors and the wider region, noting that ISIS had regrouped and rebuilt its capabilities in southern Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported that at least five people were killed, including the leader and members of an ISIS cell, during the strikes.

Since the Dec. 13 attack in Syria, U.S. and partner forces have conducted 10 operations in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the deaths or detentions of 23 terrorist operatives, CENTCOM said. The coalition has conducted more than 80 counterterrorism operations in Syria over the past six months, according to CENTCOM.

President Donald Trump had vowed “very serious retaliation” after the Palmyra attack, which he attributed to ISIS. He later reiterated his backing for Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, whom Trump said was fully in support of the U.S. strikes against ISIS. While ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the Palmyra attack, the group has issued statements attacking the Syrian government and army as “apostates.” The gunman, who had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months earlier, was killed during the assault after clashing with Syrian guards during a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials.

The air campaign comes as the coalition continues its push to degrade ISIS capabilities in Syria and prevent the group from exploiting fragments of the country’s battlefield in ways that could threaten regional stability. As the broader operation persists, U.S. and allied forces are pursuing additional strikes against remaining ISIS targets in the region.