|
The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner
forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT) Saturday,
according to the U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple
IS targets across Syria.
The Jordanian military later announced it had taken part in the
strikes.
Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part
of 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,” U.S. Central Command said in a
statement Saturday.
A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had
arrested the military leader of IS operations in the Levant.
The U.S. 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 Torres-Tovar and Howard
were members of the Iowa National Guard.
It launched Dec. 19 with another 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
U.S.’s main partner in the fight against IS 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 recently joined the global coalition against the IS.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
