U.S. Launches Large-Scale Strikes on Islamic State Targets in Syria

Reuters

A U.S. Airman attaches a GBU-31 munitions system to an F-15E Strike Eagle in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, 19 December 2025.

The United States military carried out large-scale air and ground strikes against dozens of Islamic State (ISIS) targets across Syria on Friday, U.S. officials said, in retaliation for a recent attack that killed American personnel.

According to U.S. Central Command, the operation—named “Operation Hawkeye Strike”—targeted more than 70 ISIS sites across central Syria. The strikes hit ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons depots, with support from Jordanian fighter jets. U.S. forces deployed F-15 and A-10 aircraft, Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems, officials said.

The action followed a suspected ISIS attack last weekend in the central Syrian city of Palmyra, in which two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed when a convoy of American and Syrian forces was ambushed. Three additional U.S. soldiers were wounded. The attacker was later shot dead. Syria’s Interior Ministry described the assailant as a member of Syrian security forces suspected of sympathising with ISIS.

President Donald Trump had vowed retaliation after the attack. Speaking at a rally in North Carolina on Friday, Trump described the operation as a “massive” and “very successful” blow against ISIS.

“We hit the ISIS thugs in Syria… and it was very successful,” President Trump said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was decisive but limited in scope. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” he said. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. And we will continue.”

President Trump also said on social media that the Syrian government had fully supported the strikes and that Washington was inflicting “very serious retaliation.”

Syria’s foreign ministry reaffirmed its commitment to fighting Islamic State and ensuring the group has “no safe havens on Syrian territory.” Syria has been cooperating with the U.S.-led coalition in recent months, including joint air and ground operations targeting ISIS cells.

About 1,000 U.S. troops remain deployed in Syria as part of the international coalition against Islamic State. Syria’s current government, led by former rebel groups that ousted Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, has increased coordination with the coalition despite its complex political background.

Last month, cooperation was further formalised during a visit to Washington by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, where an agreement was reached to intensify joint efforts against ISIS.

Source: Reuters



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