Jordan says it took part in US-led strikes on ISIS in Syria that killed at least 5

‘Intense’ air campaign lasting hours hit cells across multiple provinces; Amman says it aimed to block ‘extremist organizations’ from threatening region

Jordan confirmed Saturday that its air force took part in US-led overnight airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria. The attacks killed at least five ISIS operatives, including the leader of a drone cell, according to Syrian and monitoring sources.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP that “at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed” in the strikes in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, including the head of a cell responsible for operating drones in the area.

A Syrian security source told the agency that the US strikes targeted ISIS cells in the vast Syrian desert, including in Homs, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, and did not include ground operations. Most of the targets were in a mountainous area running north of the historic city of Palmyra, including toward Deir ez-Zor.

A second Syrian security official told AFP said “the bombardment was intense” and lasted around five hours.

Jordan confirmed after the attack that its air force participated in the US-led operation, saying it joined the strikes “to prevent extremist organizations from exploiting these areas as launching pads to threaten the security of Syria’s neighbors.” State media in the kingdom first reported Jordan’s involvement, without detailing the scope of its role.

US officials have said American forces struck more than 70 ISIS targets using fighter jets, attack aircraft, helicopters and artillery, describing the operation as “large-scale.” US President Donald Trump called the strikes “very serious retaliation” for a December 13 attack in the Syrian desert that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter.

Washington has framed the operation as a limited but forceful response aimed at preventing the Islamic State from regrouping and carrying out further attacks against US and allied forces. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were intended to “eliminate” ISIS fighters and weapons sites, while cautioning that additional action could follow if American personnel are targeted again.

The strikes come despite a broader US shift of military resources away from the Middle East, even as several hundred American troops remain deployed in eastern Syria as part of the international coalition against ISIS.

Syria’s government has publicly supported the US action, with its foreign ministry saying in a statement on X that last week’s attack “underscores the urgent necessity of strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms” and that Syria is committed “to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat.”

While the jihadist group has not claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush on US troops, it has claimed responsibility for two attacks on Syrian security forces since, one of which killed four Syrian soldiers in Idlib province.