US carries out strikes in Syria as part of ongoing retaliation against ISIS

(CNN) — The US carried out large-scale strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Saturday tied to an ongoing retaliatory campaign dubbed “Operation Hawkeye Strike.”

“Today, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, alongside partner forces, conducted large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria,” US Central Command said in a release posted on X.

Operation Hawkeye Strike, named for the two US soldiers killed from the “Hawkeye State” of Iowa, began on December 19, 2025 as a direct response to the fatal attack carried out by an ISIS gunman in Palmyra, Syria that killed two US soldiers and one civilian interpreter just six days prior.

The soldiers were identified as 25-year-old Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar of Des Moines, Iowa, and 29-year-old Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown, Iowa. Both were members of the Iowa National Guard, which began deploying roughly 1,800 troops to the Middle East earlier this year as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US mission to defeat ISIS. Three other Iowa National Guard members were injured in the attack.

A US official told CNN that Saturday’s operation fired over 90 precision munitions to hit more than 35 targets, using over two dozen aircraft.

“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,” US Central Command said in the release.

Hundreds of American troops continue to be deployed to Syria as part of the US’ longstanding mission to combat ISIS, a mission that began when ISIS rapidly took control of a large chunk of Syria and Iraq in the mid 2010s. Subsequently, US and partner operations, paired with a change in regime in Syria, largely eliminated that territorial control.

CNN has previously reported that the goal of Operation Hawkeye is to deliver a big blow to ISIS remnants in Syria and their ability to pose a threat to US forces in the region.

The-CNN-Wire
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