US launches ‘large-scale’ attacks against ISIL in Syria after deadly ambush 

The United States has carried out another round of “large-scale” attacks against the ISIL or ISIS group in Syria following an ambush that killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the city of Palmyra last month.

The US Central Command said in a statement on Saturday that the attacks occurred at around 17:30 GMT and hit “multiple ISIS targets across Syria”.

“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,” the Central Command said.

The statement did not say whether anyone was killed in the strikes.

Grainy aerial video accompanying the statement, posted on X, showed several separate explosions, apparently in rural areas.

The Central Command said the attacks were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.

The US is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. The ambush on December 13 involved a lone gunman who Syria’s interior ministry said was a member of the security forces who had been set to be fired for his extremist views.

The US military launched the Operation Hawkeye Strike on December 19 with a large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had ISIL infrastructure and weapons.

It said on December 30 that its forces had killed or captured about 25 ISIL fighters following the launch of Operation Hawkeye Strike.

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

Syria joined the global coalition against ISIL, after reaching an agreement late last year when Syrian President Ahmed ‍al-Sharaa visited the White House.

Syrian officials said last month that leading ISIL figure Taha al-Zoubi has been arrested in the Damascus countryside.

US President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of Washington’s presence in Syria, ordering the withdrawal of troops during his first term but ultimately leaving American forces in the country.

About 1,000 US troops remain in Syria.

The US military has said it would further reduce the number of American personnel in Syria and eventually reduce its bases in the country to one.