Trump Orders Mass Strike Against ISIS In Syria After US Forces Killed
U.S. forces launched a sweeping military offensive late Friday against Islamic State targets across Syria, fulfilling President Donald J. Trump’s promise of decisive retaliation after an ISIS terrorist killed three Americans in an ambush last weekend.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that American forces—operating with logistical support from Jordan—struck more than 70 ISIS-linked sites across central Syria. According to the Pentagon, fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery systems delivered more than 100 precision-guided munitions against terrorist infrastructure, weapons depots, and command nodes.
CENTCOM said the operation, dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, was carried out in direct response to the Dec. 13 ambush near Palmyra, where two U.S. service members and a civilian interpreter were shot and killed by an ISIS gunman.
In a statement posted to Truth Social, President Trump made clear that the mission was both deliberate and promised.
“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” Trump wrote. “We are striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria, a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated.”
Trump also indicated that Syria’s current government supported the operation.
“The government of Syria, led by a man who is working very hard to bring greatness back to Syria, and is fully in support,” the president continued, warning in all caps that terrorists who target Americans in the future will “be hit harder than you have ever been hit before.”
Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said the strikes are intended to cripple ISIS’s operational capacity and protect Americans at home and abroad.
“This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the U.S. homeland,” Cooper said in a statement, per the Washington Times. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region.”
CENTCOM said that since the Dec. 13 attack, U.S. forces have carried out more than 80 counterterrorism operations against ISIS in Syria. Military officials reported that at least 23 ISIS operatives have been killed or captured during that period.
In a separate Truth Social post, President Trump referenced Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who assumed power in Damascus in December 2024 following the collapse of longtime dictator Bashar Assad’s regime. Al-Sharaa now faces growing pressure to prove his government can suppress terrorist networks still operating within Syrian territory.
The escalation comes at a delicate moment for the region. While Trump has signaled a renewed willingness to use American power decisively—including potential action against Venezuela and expanded maritime operations targeting drug trafficking—the Syria strikes highlight the ongoing risks faced by U.S. forces deployed overseas.
The United States has maintained a military presence in Syria for years, even after President Trump declared during his first term that ISIS had been “territorially defeated.” At its peak, the terror group controlled vast swaths of Syria and neighboring Iraq, prompting the deployment of U.S. ground forces.
Roughly 900 to 1,000 U.S. troops have remained in Syria since then. That number temporarily rose to about 2,000 during the collapse of the Assad government in December 2024, but is believed to have since returned to around 1,000.
Pentagon officials maintain that U.S. troops remain in Syria solely for counterterrorism missions against ISIS. Some lawmakers, however, argue that recent American deaths underscore the danger of an open-ended deployment in a volatile region.
For the Trump administration, the message is unmistakable: attacks on Americans will be met with overwhelming force—and there will be no ambiguity about who is in charge.