American and Jordanian forces carried out airstrikes on more than three dozen Islamic State targets in Syria today, in the second wave of bombardments retaliating for the killing of American soldiers last month.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the airstrikes late this afternoon, saying that a large force of more than a dozen aircraft bombed dozens of ISIS targets “across Syria,” firing more than 90 munitions. The operation included American F-15E Strike Eagles, A-10 Warthog close attack planes, AC-130J gunships and MQ-9 Reaper drones. Jordanian Air Force F-16s also participated, a CENTCOM spokesperson told Task & Purpose. The operation started on Saturday evening, Syrian time.
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CENTCOM did not specify where in Syria the attacks took place or how many ISIS fighters were believed to have been killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group tracking fighting in the Syrian Civil War and international powers’ operations in the country, reports that at least three sites in the desert around Deir Ezzor were hit. The group also noted ongoing aerial patrols by coalition warplanes. The attacks appear to be the first U.S. airstrikes on ISIS fighters in 2026.
CENTCOM said that the attack was a part of Operation Hawkeye Strike. That mission, technically a part of the wider Operation Inherent Resolve, started on Dec. 19, in response to the death of two Iowa National Guard soldiers. Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, along with their American civilian interpreter, were killed on Dec. 13 while a part of an American delegation meeting officials in Palmyra, Syria. A gunman, believed to be with ISIS, opened fire before being gunned down. Six days later the American military launched its large-scale retaliation.
CENTCOM said that it struck 70 targets in central Syria, but did not say how many people were killed in the attacks. In the following 10 days, American and partner forces conducted 11 ground missions, killing several ISIS fighters and capturing several more.
Saturday’s operation is not the first anti-ISIS airstrike of the year though. U.S. Africa Command carried out airstrikes on ISIS fighters in Somalia on Jan. 1-3 and Jan. 8. All of the operations took place in the Gholis Mountains, where American forces heavily bombed last month. AFRICOM did not specify how many ISIS-Somalia fighters were targeted or killed.
