US conducts 'massive strike' on IS targets in Syria in retaliation for Palmyra attack
Centcom says more than 70 targets across central Syria were hit with jets, helicopters and artillery; Jordanian aircraft involved; operation Hawkeye Strike launched Friday afternoon
The United States carried out a "massive strike" against Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday, in response to a deadly ambush on American forces in Palmyra on December 13. U.S. Central Command said jets, attack helicopters and artillery hit more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria, with aircraft from Jordan taking part in the operation. Centcom described the operation as targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons sites and said it employed more than 100 precision munitions. The command also announced that the strike was launched at 16:00 Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) and carried the name Hawkeye Strike.
Centcom said the operation targeted IS elements across central Syria, including locations in Deir ez Zor province. The strike represented a broad, multi-domain effort involving airpower and ground-launched effects, with coalition partner support from Jordan. In announcing the strike, Centcom’s commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, said the United States "will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region". The move comes as Washington seeks to deter IS threats after a recent attack that killed U.S. personnel in Palmyra.
The Pentagon and the White House have framed the operation as a response to terrorism rather than a declaration of full-scale war. President Donald Trump, posting on X, said, "we are striking very strongly" against the IS strongholds, following the Palmyra ambush. In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump asserted that the United States "is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible" and claimed that the Syrian government was "fully in support." The White House and Centcom have not publicly elaborated on the full strategic aims beyond degrading IS capabilities in Syria.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the strike as "not the beginning of a war - it is a declaration of vengeance," according to the notes accompanying the operation. "If you target Americans - anywhere in the world - you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you. Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue," Hegseth added.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed in the Palmyra attack, with a Pentagon official noting three others were wounded. The soldiers were identified as Sgt Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, and Sgt William Nathaniel Howard, 29. Centcom said the ambush occurred in an area where the Syrian president does not have full control. The initial Centcom briefing said the attacker was an Islamic State gunman who was engaged and killed; subsequently, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights provided a different account, saying the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces. No group has claimed responsibility for the Palmyra assault, and the gunman’s identity has not been released. BBC News said it could not immediately verify the targets or the specifics of the operation.
Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency quoted the Royal Jordanian Air Force as having participated in the strikes, aimed at preventing extremist groups from threatening Syria’s neighbors and the wider region. The participation underscores a regional dimension to the U.S.-led effort against IS after years of coalition fighting in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
In a broader operational context, IS has not held territory on a large scale since its 2019 collapse of a declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq. However, the UN has estimated that thousands of IS fighters remain active in the two countries, with estimates ranging from about 5,000 to 7,000. U.S. troops have maintained a presence in Syria since 2015 to help train partner forces as part of the broader campaign against IS. Syria has joined an international coalition to combat IS and has pledged to cooperate with the United States in operations against the group. In November, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa — a former opponent of the regime who helped coordinate international efforts against IS — met with Trump at the White House, describing the visit as part of a "new era" for the bilateral relationship.
The Palmyra attack and the subsequent U.S. strike come amid ongoing debates about the balance between counterterrorism operations and broader regional stability. While IS has not publicly commented on the latest strike, and no group has claimed responsibility for the Palmyra attack, U.S. officials emphasized that the mission was a targeted response to terrorism rather than a broader strategy for war. The United States has repeatedly stressed its intent to pursue IS targets wherever they operate, including across Syria and in other parts of the region, while continuing to work with local and international partners to prevent further IS-enabled threats.