US launches round of strikes against Islamic State group in Syria

THE US HAS launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

The large-scale strikes were conducted by the US alongside partner forces, according to US Central Command.

The strikes hit multiple IS targets across Syria.

Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of US President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly IS attack that killed Sgt Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.

“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 a statement on Saturday.

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A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of IS’s operations in the Levant.

The US military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.

The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike.

Both Sgt Torres-Tovar and Sgt Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.

In December the US launched a large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the US’s main partner in the fight against IS in Syria, but since the ousting of former Syrian president Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been co-ordinating with the central government in Damascus.

Syria recently joined the global coalition against IS.