US forces launched military strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria at dawn today, Saturday 20 December, after US President Donald Trump vowed a “decisive” response to last week’s Palmyra (Tadmur, central Syria) attack.
The strikes targeted areas in the Maadan desert (Raqqa countryside) and the al-Hamad desert (Deir Ezzor countryside).
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the start of “Eye of the Falcon” operation against the Islamic State group in Syria.
CENTCOM said its forces hit more than 70 targets at multiple sites across central Syria, using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery.
In a post on X, it said the Jordanian Armed Forces provided support with fighter aircraft, and the operation used more than 100 munitions to precisely target Islamic State infrastructure sites and weapons depots.
CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper described the operation as “decisive” to prevent the Islamic State group from planning “terrorist” attacks against the United States.
He said US forces will continue to pursue “terrorists” seeking to harm Americans and their partners in the region, without relent.
A US official told NBC that the goal of the operation was to strike areas where the group is trying to reorganize, uproot its forces, and destroy its sites on a wide scale.
The official said the US military used A-10 and F-16 aircraft, Apache helicopters, and HIMARS systems, while Jordanian F-16s also provided support.
Two US officials said the strikes could continue for several weeks, or even up to a month.
On 13 December, two US service members and an American civilian were killed, and three others were injured, in an armed ambush carried out by an Islamic State fighter against a joint patrol of US forces and the Syrian army near Palmyra, CENTCOM said.
The Syrian government had not commented on the US military operation in Syria at the time this report was published.
Trump threatens
Trump said the operation came in response to what he described as “brutal” killings by the Islamic State group of the two US soldiers in Syria.
“We are delivering very powerful strikes against the group’s strongholds in Syria,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Syria is a land soaked in blood and facing many problems, but it holds a bright future if the group is eliminated.”
He said Syria’s government, “led by a man working hard to make Syria great again, fully supports us,” referring to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Trump warned all “terrorists” who dare to attack Americans, telling them, “You will receive a strike harsher than ever before if you attack or threaten the United States in any way.”
“Eliminating” the group
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said US forces had begun “Eye of the Falcon” operation in Syria to eliminate the group’s fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites, in a direct response to the 13 December attack on US forces in Palmyra, central Syria.
“This is not the beginning of a war, it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth wrote on X, stressing that the United States, under President Donald Trump, “will never hesitate and will never back down” from defending its people.
He added, “Today we hunted our enemies in Syria and killed many of them, and we will keep doing it,” warning the group, “As we said directly after the brutal attack, if you target Americans anywhere in the world, you will spend the rest of your short life in constant fear, knowing the United States will hunt you down, find you, and kill you without mercy.”
SDF welcomes
The general command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) welcomed the precise air and missile strikes that targeted the group’s sites in Syria in recent hours.
In a statement, it said the continued air support is a decisive factor in preventing the Islamic State group from regrouping its cells or reviving its disruptive activity.
It said the group still poses a direct threat to the security and stability of the region, and is trying to exploit any vacuum or laxity in military and security efforts.
80 operations
On 17 December, CENTCOM said US forces and partner forces in Syria have carried out about 80 operations since July against individuals it described as “terrorists,” including remnants linked to the Islamic State group that posed a direct threat to the United States and its overseas interests.
It said the Islamic State group inspired 11 plots or attacks inside the United States over the past year.
CENTCOM said the operations led to the arrest of 119 individuals and the killing of 14 others, in an effort to prevent the group from rebuilding itself and inciting terrorist attacks worldwide.
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