US military strikes Islamic State group targets in Syria, officials say

The United States and its partners have carried out large-scale strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria, the US Central Command (Centcom) announced.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday led the strikes, part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, in retaliation for the deadly ISIS attack on US forces in Syria on December 13, Centcom wrote on X.

The strikes were carried out in an effort to combat terrorism and protect U.S. and partner forces in the region, according to Centcom.

“Our message remains strong: if you harm our fighters, we will find and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to escape justice,” Centcom said.

The United States and its partners fired more than 90 precision munitions at more than 35 targets in an operation involving more than 20 aircraft, an official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

The official added that aircraft including Jordanian F-15Es, A-10s, AC-130Js, MQ-9s and F-16s took part in the strikes.

The location of the strikes and the number of victims are not yet clear.

“We will never forget and never give in,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X on Saturday in reference to the military action.

The Trump administration first announced Operation Hawkeye Strike in December after a ISIS gunman killed two American soldiers and an American civilian interpreter in an ambush in Palmyra, located in central Syria.

“This is not the start of a war, this is a declaration of revenge,” Hegseth said when announcing the operation in December.

“The United States of America, under the leadership of President Trump, will never hesitate or give up in defense of its people.”

Before Saturday’s latest strikes, U.S. forces killed or captured nearly 25 ISIS members during 11 missions between Dec. 20 and 29 as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, Centcom said.

In the operation’s first mission, on Dec. 19, U.S. and Jordanian forces carried out a “massive strike” against the IS group, deploying fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery to strike “more than 70 targets in multiple locations across central Syria,” according to Centcom.

This operation, according to the statement, “used more than 100 precision munitions” targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.

Syria is in a fragile state since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, which ended a civil war which has ravaged the country for 13 years.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is the the president of the country since his rebel group toppled Assad and consolidated its control.

ISIS has been weakened in Syria, but still remains active, primarily carrying out attacks against Kurdish-led forces in the northeast of the country in 2025.