The US launches a “massive” attack against IS in Syria.

The US says its forces have launched a “major strike” against the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said warplanes, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets across multiple locations in central Syria.”. Jordanian aircraft were also involved.

The operation targeted IS infrastructure and weapons sites, utilising more than 100 precision munitions.

After the IS attack on the city of Palmyra on December 13, President Trump said that we were “attacking IS strongholds forcefully.” The operation claimed the lives of two American soldiers and an American civilian interpreter.

In a statement at the

Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said the US would “continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our allies across the region.”

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told news agency AFP that “at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed” in eastern Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, including the leader of a cell responsible for drones in the area.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force participated in the strikes to “prevent extremist groups from threatening”, according to Jordan’s state news agency, Petra. The aim of the strikes was to ensure the security of Syria’s neighbours and the wider region.

IS has not commented publicly. The BBC was unable to immediately verify the targets.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was “not the beginning of war – it is a declaration of retaliation.

“If you target Americans – anywhere in the world – you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing that the United States will hunt you down, find you, and brutally kill you.

The US Secretary of Defence said, “Today, we hunted and killed our enemies.” We have eliminated numerous adversaries. And we will continue to do so.”

Posting on Truth Social, President Trump said the US was “taking grave retribution on the murderous terrorists responsible, as I promised.”

He stated that the Syrian government was “fully supportive.”

CENTCOM had earlier confirmed that an IS gunman, who “continued to kill”, carried out the deadly attack in Palmyra.

Three other US soldiers were wounded in the ambush, which a Pentagon official said occurred “in an area not under the control of the Syrian president.”.

Simultaneously, SOHR stated that the attacker belonged to the Syrian security forces.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the identities of the gunmen have not been released.

In 2019, a US-backed coalition of Syrian fighters announced IS had lost the last part of the territory it controlled in Syria, but the jihadist group has carried out some attacks since then.

The United Nations says the group still has 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

US troops have maintained a presence in Syria since 2015 to help train other forces as part of the campaign against IS.

Syria recently joined an international coalition to combat IS and has pledged to cooperate with the US.

In November, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa – a former jihadist leader whose coalition forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime in 2024 – met with Trump at the White House and described his visit as part of a “new era” for both countries.