The US says its military has carried out a “massive strike” against the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria, in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria”. Aircraft from Jordan were also involved.
It said the operation “employed more than 100 precision munitions” targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.
President Donald Trump said “we are striking very strongly” against IS strongholds, following the 13 December IS ambush in the city of Palmyra in which two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed.
In a statement on X, Centcom – which directs American military operations in the Middle East, north-east Africa, central and southern Asia – said Operation Hawkeye Strike was launched at 16:00 Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) on Friday.
Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said that the US “will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region”.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told news agency AFP that “at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed” in eastern Syria’s Deir ez Zor province, including the leader of a cell responsible for drones in the area.
Petra, Jordan’s state-run news agency, announced the Royal Jordanian Air Force had participated in the strikes to “prevent extremist groups” from “threaten[ing] the security of Syria’s neighbours and the wider region”. IS has not publicly commented. The BBC was unable to immediately verify the targets. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation “is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance.
