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

The US Central Command (Centcom) has reported that US forces, under President Donald Trump’s direction, executed large-scale strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike.

This operation was a direct response to an IS attack on US forces on December 13. The strikes aimed to combat terrorism and were characterized by Centcom as a firm message of retribution for harming US personnel.

More than 90 precision munitions were deployed against over 35 targets utilizing more than 20 aircraft, including F-15Es and A-10s. The specific locations and casualty details of the strikes remain unspecified.

Before this latest operation, US forces had killed or captured nearly 25 IS members in earlier missions from December 20-29.

The first mission of Operation Hawkeye involved a significant strike against IS infrastructure, deploying over 100 precision munitions across various locations in central Syria.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, the country has experienced instability, with Ahmed al-Sharaa as the current leader of the governing group.

Despite the weakening of IS, it continues to pose a threat, especially to Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria as of 2025.