WASHINGTON — The United States military launched a series of large-scale airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Saturday, marking a significant escalation in a retaliatory campaign dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the operation was carried out under the direct order of President Donald Trump. The strikes serve as a direct response to a deadly ISIS ambush on December 13 that claimed the lives of two U.S. service members and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
Precision Strikes across Central Syria
According to military officials, the operation was a massive display of aerial coordinated power. More than 20 aircraft—including F-15Es, A-10s, AC-130Js, MQ-9 Reapers, and Jordanian F-16s—participated in the mission.
The coalition forces reportedly:
- Deployed more than 90 precision munitions.
- Hit over 35 distinct targets linked to ISIS infrastructure.
- Targeted known weapons caches and command centers.
“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,” CENTCOM stated in a post on X.
‘A Declaration of Vengeance’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who previously described the operation not as the start of a new war but as a “declaration of vengeance,” echoed the administration’s hardline stance on Saturday.
“We will never forget, and never relent,” Hegseth wrote.
Since the launch of Operation Hawkeye Strike in late December, the U.S. has maintained a high tempo of operations. Between December 20 and December 29, CENTCOM reported that U.S. forces killed or captured nearly 25 ISIS members across 11 separate missions. This follows an initial “massive strike” on December 19 that utilized over 100 precision munitions against 70 targets.
A Fragmented Landscape
The military action comes at a volatile time for Syria. The country remains in a fragile state following the historic collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.
While the civil war that ravaged the nation for 13 years has effectively ended, the new government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) continues to face security challenges. Though weakened, ISIS has remained active throughout 2025, primarily targeting Kurdish-led forces in the country’s northeast.
U.S. officials have not yet released specific data regarding casualties from Saturday’s strikes or the exact geographic coordinates of the targets hit.
