US and allies strike Islamic State in Syria after attack that killed three Americans | Islamic State

US and allied forces launched “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria on Saturday, the US military said, in the latest response to an attack that killed three Americans last month.

Washington said a single gunman from the militant group carried out the attack on Palmyra on December 13, in which two US soldiers and a US civilian translator were killed. The area is home to Unesco-listed ancient ruins and was once controlled by jihadist fighters.

“Today’s strikes targeted ISIS across Syria” and were “part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, launched in direct response to ISIS’ deadly attack on U.S. and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement to X.

The United States and Jordan carried out a previous round of strikes as part of the same operation last month, hitting dozens of Islamic State targets.

The Palmyra attack was the first such incident since the ouster of Syria’s long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The targeted US personnel were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, an international effort to combat ISIS, which seized large swaths of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014.

The jihadists were eventually defeated by local ground forces backed by international airstrikes and other support, but ISIS still has a presence in Syria, particularly in the country’s vast desert.

US President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of the presence of American troops in Syria, ordering the withdrawal of troops during his first term but ultimately leaving them in place.

While the Pentagon announced in April that the US would halve the number of personnel in Syria in the coming months, US special representative for Syria Tom Barrack announced in June that Washington would eventually reduce its bases in the country to one.