US launches major strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria after deadly Palmyra attack

The United States said its military carried out a “massive strike” against the IS (Islamic State) group in Syria, days after a deadly ambush on American forces in the city of Palmyra.

The Centcom (U.S. Central Command) said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria. Aircraft from Jordan also took part in the operation, which Centcom said employed more than 100 precision-guided munitions against known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.

In a statement posted on X, Centcom said the operation, named Operation Hawkeye Strike, was launched at 16:00 Eastern Time (02:30 AM IST) on Friday. Centcom Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said the US would “continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region”.

US President Donald Trump said the strikes were in response to the 13 December IS ambush in Palmyra in which two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said the US was inflicting “very serious retaliation” on those responsible and claimed the Syrian government was “fully in support”.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was not the beginning of a war but a response to attacks on Americans, adding that the US would continue to pursue those it considers responsible.

His remarks were attributed to the defence department.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told AFP that at least five IS members were killed in eastern Syria’s Deir ez Zor province, including the leader of a cell responsible for drone operations in the area. IS has not publicly commented, and the targets could not be independently verified.

Centcom earlier said the Palmyra attack was carried out by an IS gunman who was engaged and killed. Three other US soldiers were injured in the ambush, which a Pentagon official said occurred in an area not under the control of the Syrian president. The SOHR, however, claimed the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces. No group has claimed responsibility, and the identity of the gunman has not been released.

Although a US-backed alliance declared in 2019 that IS had lost the last territory it controlled in Syria, the group has continued to carry out attacks. The United Nations estimates that IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters across Syria and Iraq.

US troops have been deployed in Syria since 2015 as part of efforts to train local forces and counter IS. Syria has recently joined an international coalition against IS and has pledged cooperation with the US.