US strikes Islamic State targets in Syria after attack on troops

WASHINGTON,— The United States carried out air and ground strikes against more than 70 Islamic State targets across central Syria on Friday, the US military said, in response to an attack earlier this month that killed three Americans.

US Central Command said the strikes hit multiple locations in central Syria and involved fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery.

According to CENTCOM, more than 100 precision-guided munitions were used to target Islamic State infrastructure, weapons depots, and operational sites.

President Donald Trump said the military action followed the December 13 attack in Palmyra that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian.

In a message posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States was carrying out serious retaliation against those responsible. He added that anyone who attacks Americans would face strong consequences.

Washington said the Palmyra attack was carried out by a lone gunman affiliated with the Islamic State group. Palmyra, located in central Syria, is known for its ancient ruins listed by UNESCO and was previously controlled by jihadist fighters during the conflict.

CENTCOM said US and allied forces have carried out 10 operations in Syria and Iraq since the Palmyra attack.

Those missions resulted in the deaths or detention of 23 people described as terrorist operatives. The statement did not identify the specific groups involved.

Syria’s foreign ministry did not directly comment on the US strikes but said the country remains committed to fighting the Islamic State group.

In a post on X, the ministry said Syria is working to ensure the group has no safe havens on its territory and will continue military operations wherever it poses a threat.

The Americans killed in the Palmyra attack were identified as Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar. The third victim was Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a civilian interpreter from Michigan who was supporting US forces.

A ceremony marking the return of the remains to the United States was held on Wednesday. President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine attended, according to US officials.

The attack was the first fatal incident involving US personnel in Syria since the removal of former president Bashar al-Assad in December last year.

Syria’s interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said the attacker was a member of the security forces who was set to be dismissed due to extremist Islamist views.

US forces in Syria are operating as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition formed to defeat the Islamic State group after it seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group was later pushed back by local forces supported by coalition air strikes.

US officials say the Islamic State still maintains a presence in Syria, particularly in remote desert areas, despite its territorial defeat.

Trump has long questioned the US military presence in Syria. During his first term, he ordered troop withdrawals but kept forces in the country.

The Pentagon said in April that US troop numbers in Syria would be reduced by half. US envoy Tom Barrack said in June that American bases would eventually be reduced to one.

US forces remain deployed in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Syria’s Kurdish region in the northeast and at Al-Tanf near the Jordanian border.

US airstrikes kill at least five IS fighters, Syria monitor says

At least five Islamic State militants were killed in overnight US airstrikes in eastern Syria, a war monitor said on Saturday, as Jordan confirmed its participation in the operation following last weekend’s deadly attack on American forces.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP the strikes targeted Deir Ezzor province and killed at least five IS members, including the leader of a cell responsible for drone operations in the area.

(With files from AFP)