U.S., allies launch “large-scale” strikes on Islamic State targets across Syria after Palmyra attack
U.S. and allied forces carried out large-scale strikes against the Islamic State group across Syria today, the U.S. military said, describing the operation as a direct response to last month’s attack that killed three Americans in the ancient city of Palmyra.
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U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X that “the strikes today targeted ISIS throughout Syria” as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, launched after a Dec. 13 shooting in Palmyra that left two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter dead. U.S. officials have said a lone gunman affiliated with the extremist group carried out the attack in the city, home to UNESCO-listed ruins and once a stronghold for the militants.
Response to Palmyra attack
Today’s strikes are the latest wave under the Hawkeye Strike banner. The United States and Jordan conducted an earlier round of strikes last month, hitting dozens of Islamic State targets, according to CENTCOM. The command did not specify the number or types of targets struck in the new operation, but said the effort was aimed at degrading ISIS networks across Syrian territory.
Ongoing mission in Syria
The U.S. personnel targeted in Palmyra were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international mission to counter the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The coalition campaign—carried out with local partner forces on the ground and international air power—dismantled ISIS’s territorial caliphate after the group seized large swaths of both countries in 2014.
Despite the collapse of its self-declared state, the Islamic State group retains cells and staging areas, particularly in Syria’s vast desert regions. Those remnants have continued to mount ambushes, bombings and targeted attacks against local security forces and coalition-aligned units, testing the durability of gains made since the defeat of the group’s last territorial enclave.
Regional coordination
Jordan’s participation in last month’s round underscores the regional dimension of the campaign against ISIS, with Amman and Washington working alongside Syrian partner forces against the group’s cross-border networks. CENTCOM framed Hawkeye Strike as part of a broader effort to deter and disrupt ISIS plots while reinforcing the coalition’s ability to protect its forces.
Why it matters
The latest strikes highlight the coalition’s willingness to escalate against Islamic State operatives following lethal attacks on U.S. and partner personnel. They also underscore the enduring security challenge posed by ISIS’s insurgent footprint in Syria, despite years of sustained pressure and the loss of its territory and senior leaders.
No information was immediately available on specific locations or casualties from the latest strikes. CENTCOM said the operation is intended to reduce the group’s capacity to plan and mount further attacks, particularly in areas where ISIS has exploited the desert terrain and security gaps to regroup.
Palmyra, the site of last month’s attack, became a symbol of ISIS’s brutality and cultural destruction when the group overran the city during the height of its power and damaged or demolished parts of its famed archaeological treasures. The city’s recapture by Syrian government forces and allies did not end the threat, as ISIS fighters dispersed into the countryside and adapted to a clandestine campaign.
Operation Hawkeye Strike continues alongside Operation Inherent Resolve’s core mission: supporting local partners, constraining ISIS’s mobility and leadership, and preventing the group from reconstituting the capabilities it once wielded. U.S. and allied officials say maintaining pressure remains essential to protect forces on the ground and to safeguard local communities historically targeted by the militants.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
