On December 19, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commenced Operation Hawkeye Strike. CENTCOM forces struck more than 70 targets across central Syria with jets, helicopters and artillery. The Jordanian Armed Forces participated with fighter aircraft. More than 100 precision munitions were employed while targeting known ISIS weapons, and infrastructure sites.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said, "This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the US homeland," while adding, "We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region."
On December 13, three Americans - two US National Guard members and a civilian interpreter - were killed in Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of US and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the US military.
Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack. The killer was a member of the Syrian Security Forces, but had been radicalized by ISIS.
After the attack on US and Syrian personnel, US and partner forces carried out 10 operations in Syria and Iraq resulting in the detention or deaths of 23 terrorist operatives.
In the last six months, the US and partner forces in Syria have carried out more than 80 operations to eliminate terrorists posing a direct threat to the US and regional security.
According to US President Donald Trump, the US military has "hit the ISIS [ISIL] thugs in Syria".
While delivering a speech Friday evening in North Carolina, Trump said he "ordered a massive strike on the terrorists that killed our three great patriots last week".
"It was very successful. It was precision," Trump added. "We hit every site flawlessly and we are restoring peace through strength all over the world."
Trump posted on Truth Social platform that the Syrian government was "fully in support" of the US military operation.
According to the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs it "invites the United States and member states of the international coalition to support these efforts".
According to Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of War, the US forces had targeted "ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites".
According to sources on the ground, the strikes hit central and northeastern parts of the country, and residents in Palmyra and Raqqa said they heard the sounds of fighter jets and huge explosions throughout the night.
This latest operation came as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is trying to entice investors to Syria, in light of the recent repeal of the Caesar Sanctions Act by the US Congress, and the signing into law by Trump. The crippling sanctions had prevented Arab and foreign investors from financial investments to rebuild Syria, including energy development projects.
Al-Sharaa and General Mazloum Abdi of the Kurdish SDF signed an agreement to merge their forces, which carried a deadline of implementation before January 1, 2026. The SDF are the US-supported militia in the Syrian northeast that were instrumental in the defeat of ISIS in 2019.
The killing of three Americans in Syria while meeting with the Syrian Security Forces has put pressure on the Sharaa administration to implement the merger of SDF and the Syrian Security forces to bolster the US military and Jordanian partners in an effort to eradicate the ISIS threat.
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