US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that its forces, alongside partner forces, conducted large-scale strikes against multiple Islamic State (ISIS) targets across Syria.
A statement from CENTCOM noted that the strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched and announced on December 19, 2025, at the direction of President Donald Trump, in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria, on Dec. 13, 2025.
That ambush, carried out by an ISIS terrorist, resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and one US civilian interpreter.
Saturday’s strikes, according to the CENTCOM statement, 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."
It added that US and coalition forces “remain resolute in pursuing terrorists who seek to harm the United States."
“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," concluded the CENTCOM statement.
On the first day of Operation Hawkeye Strike, US and Jordanian forces hit more than 70 ISIS targets in central Syria using over 100 precision munitions.
In the following days and until December 31, American and partner forces killed or captured nearly 25 ISIS terrorists in Syria.
ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" in the land it controlled.
Several military offensives, including ones backed by a US-led international coalition, have since seen ISIS lose most areas it once controlled, including the loss of its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria.
However, ISIS sleeper cells remain in the area and continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq. The US deploys troops in Syria as part of its effort to defeat ISIS in the region.