The US carried out large-scale strikes against ISIS across Syria as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, responding to a December ambush in Palmyra
The strikes, conducted with partner forces, targeted multiple ISIS sites and follow earlier attacks launched on December 19
The operation underscores Washington’s continued military engagement against ISIS in Syria
The United States on Saturday, January 10, 2026, launched another round of large-scale retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The attack followed last month’s deadly ambush in Palmyra that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter.
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes were carried out at approximately 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, alongside partner forces. The operation targeted multiple ISIS positions across Syria, though CENTCOM did not specify the exact locations.
The strikes are part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, launched on December 19, 2025, at the direction of U.S. President Donald Trump. The operation is a direct response to the December 13, 2025, ISIS ambush in Palmyra that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard—both members of the Iowa National Guard—and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a U.S. civilian interpreter.
“These strikes today targeted ISIS throughout Syria as part of our ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks, and protect American and partner forces in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X. “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.”
Saturday’s strikes follow an earlier phase of Operation Hawkeye Strike launched on December 19, during which more than 70 ISIS targets across central Syria—including infrastructure and weapons sites—were hit. Separately, Britain and France announced joint airstrikes on January 3, 2026, targeting an underground facility believed to have been used by ISIS to store weapons.
A day before Saturday’s U.S. strikes, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military chief overseeing ISIS operations in the Levant. Syria has recently joined the global coalition against ISIS.
The U.S. personnel killed in Palmyra were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition effort launched to combat ISIS after the group seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. Although ISIS was territorially defeated with the help of local ground forces backed by international air power, the group continues to maintain a presence in Syria, particularly in desert regions.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to CENTCOM’s announcement on social media, stating, “We will never forget, and never relent.”
While President Donald Trump has long expressed skepticism about the U.S. military presence in Syria, American forces remain deployed in the country. The Pentagon announced in April 2025 that it would halve the number of U.S. personnel in Syria in the coming months, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said in June 2025 that Washington would eventually reduce its bases in the country to one.
[VP]
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