Trump launches massive air strike on 70 ISIS targets in Syria; US vows more action

Donald Trump launched a massive air strike against 70 Islamic State targets in Syria, with Jordanian fighter jets backing what U.S. officials described as Operation Hawkeye Strike on Friday. The strike comes after an attack in Palmyra that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last week. Pentagon and White House briefers said the operation targeted IS fighter compounds, weapon dumps and other infrastructure across central and northeast Syria’s Badia desert, with monitoring and control lines checked to prevent civilian harm.

The strike followed the December 13 assault on a convoy in Palmyra, in which two National Guard members and an American interpreter were killed and three American soldiers were wounded. The two service members have been identified as Sgt Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, and Sgt William Nathaniel Howard, 29. A handout image accompanying initial notices showed one of the fallen soldiers. U.S. officials described the operation as a direct response to the killings and said the losses were a driving factor behind the decision to strike IS targets.

Trump, speaking at a rally in North Carolina after the operation, said he had ordered a massive strike on the terrorists who killed the Americans and that the United States would act decisively. “We hit the ISIS thugs. It was very successful. We hit every site flawlessly and we are restoring peace through strength all over the world,” the president said. In a separate echo of the administration’s tone, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later posted on social media that the move “is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance. Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” He added that if Americans are targeted anywhere, they will spend the rest of their lives knowing the United States will hunt them down and ruthlessly kill them.

Analysts say the Palmyra killings and broader IS activity have pressured the Syrian government to expand cooperation with regional partners, including Jordan and Kurdish-led forces, even as the conflict remains complex and unstable. Syria’s interior ministry said the Palmyra attacker was a member of its own security forces, a claim that highlights the blurred lines between Syria’s state apparatus and armed groups amid the ongoing civil war. In a broader political shift, reports noted that Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously described as a new Syrian president during a period of transition, had been designated a terrorist by the U.S. Treasury earlier this year, a designation that the Treasury subsequently removed ahead of talks with Trump at the White House.

The United States maintains around 1,000 American troops in Syria as part of a long-running operation aimed at eradicating IS remnants. While IS has controlled no territory in Syria since 2018, the group continues to carry out sporadic attacks and insurgent-style operations. The latest strikes underscore the enduring challenge of counterterrorism in a country riven by years of conflict and by competing foreign and domestic agendas. As Operation Hawkeye Strike unfolded over central and northeastern Syria, officials stressed that the mission would be conducted with an emphasis on minimizing civilian harm while pursuing IS targets wherever they present a threat.

In the broader regional context, the Syrian government has faced a fractured landscape since the war began, with competing factions, external backers and shifting alliances shaping the battlefield. Washington has indicated that its counterterrorism campaign will persist as part of a wider strategy to degrade IS capabilities, even as diplomatic channels remain unsettled and regional actors reassess their own security priorities.