DAMASCUS, December 20 (TNF): At least five fighters from the militant Islamic State group were killed in overnight US air strikes in Syria, according to a war monitor, as Jordan confirmed its participation in the operation following a deadly attack on American forces last weekend.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict through a network of sources on the ground, said the strikes hit Islamic State positions in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. Among those killed was the leader of an IS cell responsible for drone operations in the area.
The US military said it launched the strikes as retaliation for a December 13 attack near Palmyra that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian. President Donald Trump described the operation as “very serious retaliation” against those responsible.
US forces said they struck more than 70 Islamic State targets across central Syria. The operation involved fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery. According to US officials, more than 100 precision-guided munitions were used.
Washington said the Palmyra attack was carried out by a lone IS gunman. The city lies in central Syria and is home to ancient ruins listed by UNESCO. Palmyra was once controlled by jihadist fighters during the height of the conflict.
The attack marked the first deadly assault on US troops in Syria since the overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad last year. Syrian authorities later said the attacker had been a member of the country’s security forces and was due to be dismissed for holding extremist Islamist views.
The Islamic State group has not claimed responsibility for the Palmyra attack.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the US strikes targeted active IS cells in the region. He told AFP that at least five IS members were confirmed dead, including a senior operative linked to drone activity.
Jordan’s military said its air force took part in the raids. In a statement, it said the operation aimed to stop extremist groups from using Syrian territory as a base to threaten neighbouring countries.
Jordan said the strikes were necessary “particularly after terrorist organisation IS reconstituted itself and rebuilt its capacities in southern Syria.” The kingdom shares a long border with Syria and has repeatedly warned of militant infiltration.
A Syrian security source said the US strikes targeted IS positions in the vast Badia desert. The areas hit included parts of Homs, Deir Ezzor, and Raqa provinces. The source said the operation did not involve ground troops.
Most of the strikes focused on mountainous terrain north of Palmyra stretching toward Deir Ezzor. The official said the areas were far from population centres and no civilian displacement had been reported.
Another Syrian security official described the bombardment as intense. He said the strikes lasted around five hours and involved repeated waves of air attacks.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the scale of the operation. In a statement, it said US forces struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria.
“The operation employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites,” CENTCOM said.
Since the Palmyra attack, CENTCOM said US and allied forces have carried out 10 operations in Syria and Iraq. Those actions resulted in the deaths or detention of 23 militants. CENTCOM did not specify how many belonged to IS.
Syria’s foreign ministry did not directly comment on the US strikes. However, it said in a statement on X that Syria remained committed to fighting Islamic State and preventing the group from finding safe havens on its territory.
The ministry said Syria would continue to intensify military operations against IS wherever it posed a threat.
Separately, the Israeli military said it had detained a suspected IS member in southern Syria earlier this week. In a statement, it said Israeli soldiers carried out an operation near the town of Rafid to arrest a suspect affiliated with IS.
The Israeli military said the suspect was transferred to Israeli territory for further processing. Syrian state media had earlier reported an Israeli incursion in Quneitra province in the same area.
Since Assad’s fall, Israel has moved troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights. It has also conducted repeated incursions into southern Syria, citing security concerns.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States was delivering on its promise of retaliation. He said US forces were targeting “the murderous terrorists responsible” for the Palmyra attack.
The US personnel killed in the December attack were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international mission launched to defeat IS after the group seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.
IS lost its last territorial stronghold in Syria in 2019. However, it continues to operate through sleeper cells, particularly in remote desert regions.
US forces remain deployed in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast and at the Al-Tanf base near the Jordanian border. Jordan has played a central role in the US-led coalition, providing bases and conducting air strikes, while also facing IS-linked threats at home.
The latest strikes underline Washington’s continued focus on preventing IS from regrouping, even as Syria enters a new and fragile political phase.
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