The operations, along with the U.S. military’s previous large-scale strike, were in retaliation for an attack on American forces by an ISIS gunman.
The United States and its partner forces have captured or killed nearly 25 operatives of the ISIS terrorist group since a large-scale strike in mid-December, the U.S. military said on Dec. 30.
The missions were conducted between Dec. 20 and Dec. 29, beginning one day after the launch of Operation Hawkeye Strike, in which U.S. and Jordanian forces attacked more than 70 targets using 100 precision munitions, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Dozens of fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery rounds were used in the “massive strike” and destroyed ISIS weapons and infrastructure throughout central Syria, the U.S. military said.
Central Command said on Dec. 19 that it was starting the “large-scale strike against ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria” after ISIS attacked U.S. and partner forces in that country on Dec. 13.
In the 10 days that followed the attack, U.S. and Jordanian forces killed seven ISIS members and captured several others, and eliminated four ISIS weapons caches.
“We will not relent,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement.
The U.S. military said that ISIS has “inspired at least 11 plots or attacks against targets in the United States” throughout 2025.
“Continuing to hunt down terrorist operatives, eliminate ISIS networks, and work with partners to prevent an ISIS resurgence makes America, the region, and the world safer,” Cooper said.
When the Pentagon launched Operation Hawkeye Strike on Dec. 19, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the mission was “not the beginning of war,” but rather a “declaration of vengeance.”
A single ISIS gunman had attacked U.S. forces on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria, killing two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter, while wounding three others.
“As we said directly following the savage attack, if you target Americans—anywhere in the world—you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” Hegseth said in a statement on social media.
During a summit in Florida with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec. 29, President Donald Trump said that the United States has “an understanding regarding Syria.” He praised its current president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“We get along with him great. I can’t ask for any more. He’s been with us all the way. We had that mishap with ISIS, and he was with us all the way; he was fighting them,” Trump said.
Jacki Thrapp contributed to this report.
By Jacob Burg
