US launches fresh retaliatory strikes on ISIS targets in Syria

The US has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

The large-scale strikes were conducted by the US alongside partner forces, according to US Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria. The Jordanian military announced it had taken part in the strikes. Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, last month.

“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” US Central Command said in a statement Saturday.

A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of IS’s operations in the Levant.

The US military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part. The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike.

Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.

It launched December 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the US’ main partner in the fight against IS in Syria, but since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been coordinating with the central government in Damascus. Syria recently joined the global coalition against IS.

Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters were evacuated from a contested neighbourhood in Syria’s Aleppo, officials said, a move that could bring an end to several days of violent clashes with government forces. “Through international mediation to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding leading to a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of martyrs, wounded and trapped civilians from Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud,” SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said.