Click to see full-size image. (U.S. Army)
Dozens of United States strikes hit ISIS targets in Syria late on December 19 in what was described by Washington as a response to the recent attack in the city of Palmyra that claimed the lives of three Americans.
In a statement, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery.
The Jordanian Armed Forces also supported with fighter jets, according to the command, which said that the operation, codenamed “Hawkeye Strike,” employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites.
“This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the U.S. homeland.” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region.”
The attack in Palmyra, which claimed the lives of two soldiers and a translator, took place on December 13, around a month after Syria joined the anti-ISIS international coalition led by the U.S. The attacker was a member of Syrian security forces, and reportedly even close to one of its top officers in the central region.
The administration of President Donald Trump blamed ISIS for the attack. However, a recent report by CNN said no links between the attacker and terrorist group have been found yet. The group itself praised the attack, without claiming responsibility for it.
After the attack, U.S. and partner forces conducted ten operations in Syria and Iraq resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorists, according to CENTCOM.
The command also said that American and partner forces in Syria have conducted more than 80 operations over the last six months to eliminate terrorists posing a direct threat to the U.S. and regional security.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the latest U.S. strikes – the largest since the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad last year – targeted locations in Deir Ezzor, particularly around the airport where the Syrian military maintains many positions.
An ISIS position in the Jabal al-Amour area, about two kilometers from a Syrian military base, and others in Raqqa, were also hit, according to the London-based monitoring group, which reported the death of only five terrorists, including a commander.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said that the U.S. strike inflicted “very serious retaliation” on ISIS, maintaining support for Syria and its president, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
“We are striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria, a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated. The Government of Syria, led by a man who is working very hard to bring Greatness back to Syria, and is fully in support. All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned — YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A.” he wrote.
From his side, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stressed that the strikes were a part of a limited operation, not a full-on campaign.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” Hegseth wrote on X.
“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,” he added.
In its only official comment on the strikes, the Syrian Foreign Ministry stressed its commitment for fighting ISIS, demanding support from the U.S.-led coalition.
“The Syrian Arab Republic calls on the United States and the member states of the international coalition to join in supporting the Republic’s efforts in combating terrorism, in a way that contributes to protecting civilians and restoring security and stability in the region,” the ministry said in a statement published by the state-run SANA news agency.
The U.S. strikes were questionable in many ways. First, they appear to be a part of the Trump administration’s efforts to hold ISIS responsible for what happened in Palmyra, despite the fact that all evidence indicates that a radical member of Syrian security forces carried out the attack with no involvement from the terrorist group.
In addition, since the fall of the Assad regime it has been reported by Syrian media that ISIS abandoned its remote positions in the center of the country and moved back to urban centers, which became safe again for the terrorist group’s operations, with many of its members even joining the new military and security forces.
And finally, if the CENTCOM knows about all of these positions of the terrorist group in central Syria, then why they were not previously targeted?
The Trump administration apparently views the attack in Palmyra as a hurdle in its way to build a strategic alliance with Syria. Thus, it is now working to mitigate harm by blaming ISIS only. This will not, however, end the threat posed by radicals within Syrian government forces, including those who are actually members of the terrorist group, to U.S. troops ordered to partner up with them.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
the sacrifice of many. the ‘power’ of a few. the lies the deception funelling all their country wealth into a machine of death chaos and tyranny.
never before in the fields of human endeavours has so much been owed by so few to so many churchill well its getting very close to being repeated.
and who exactly are the so many that are owed so much .? they seem to have lost their identity in compliance .
no questions about the jizz 3 mulattos squirt in my anuz last night
well, when you lie down with dogs, you end up with fleas. this is all for the home crowd who know nothing whatever about what is going on. just more smoke and mirrors to keep them bamboozled while trumpco gets things ready in syria to attack iran. gotta have a reason to still be in syria, gotta make it look good. tramp knows who did what, he likely ordered it. after all, us military are chumps and losers, trump even said so. probably nutsacks plan.
syria is nobody’s land, after assad goverment felt, the segmented forces will fight against each other, while turkey will take control of the north, israel in the south, and us empire of the exceptionals will control the oil fields and strategic areas. 1. usa want russia out of syria, 2. turkey wants russia out of syria, 3 israel want russia out of syria. so russia will lose their port in the mediterranean sea.
wait and see how it unfolds this. also syria it’s the first laboratory to test new generation arab spring strategy. childrens of syria would have to obey the empire of the exceptionals and also lick many jew socks if they wanted to live.
i want isis to come and kill every alawite there is because they obeyed the dirty jew putler. i want in two years there won’t be a single alawite baby on this damn dirty ugly planet. above all, i want nato missiles in moscow to kill maher al-assad and all traitorous scoundrels like him. moscow must be demolished and destroyed so that all the traitors of syria from putin to assad die in the ruins. may the fire take them to where the devil is at home.
usa supported taliban against ussr, years after taliban fought againts usa im afganistan, usa supported aq in syria and years later aq is fighting vs usa…
partial truth and i suppose you would have preferred the communists to have taken afghanistan and controlled the opium heroin trade ,not just the black market but the medical market too worth trillions decades, ago and had another sea port to the south advantaging their navy so that they could have conquered the world and we could all have been communised earlier?
look at the reality not a single enemy of the usa since the british ever had a chance against them.
neither the japanese nor the germans nor the sowjets ever had the assets to threaten the world.
nazis wanted europe and japanese china and the surrounding the sowjets wanted to keep what they had and everything else was just to counter us efforts. cia send al quaida to afghanistan before the sowjets entered it.
sure yeah, because us officials always tell the truth? and yes, of course i believe that they are bombing their own proxy force?
just grow up secrets aren’t spread about like manure and any idiot knows military secrets are not for public ears
they’re not playing make believe wars.
the only make-believe is your delusional opinion. what i said is an established fact. it started with afghanistan in the 80s and has continued since. did i give you a clue? you certainly need one or more.
thirs may be be strikes on isis remnants, but can usa succeed where russia failed? apparently people are very well protected in these desert hideouts. or where these hideouts occupied with a ghost army of assaad loyalists ?
russia failed because the west was secretly supporting the afghanis rather like biden did in reverse by leaving them billions of dollars in weapons abandoning america’s friends to be murdered by them and setting them up as americas enemy russias friend.
its not just afghanistan lybia, syria, iraq. the usa allways secretly support the muslim extremist militias against the others. in bosnia both the iranian revolutionary guard and al quaida were present with permission of the usa. its the same as with the drugs. the biggest drug dealers in the americas are their own secret services.
the supporters of isis supported them with us permission. now they have no support. the usa is just throwing bombs on isis cause some of al julanis guys didnt realise they are not supposed to kill americans. the problem with all these muslim terrorists is that only the top brass know who they really work for. so sometimes some eager footsoldiers kill some of the wrong nonbelievers.
false flag, diversion and deception are common tools of greater israel project worshipers and sayanim puppets
the headchoppers of damascus want to play by their own rules, just as the isreali apartheid regime and the usadmin do every day. every western ‘leader’ has the same brief. nato is an aviary of parrots who speak the words but don’t understand their meaning and/or consequences. the usadmin/nato/isreal may have created a rod for their own backs. time will tell, but that isn’t on the side of the usadmin/nato.
do any of these isis clowns, who are wounded, ending up in hospitals in northern occupied palestine perchance ? as before.
gotta look after merchandise that’ll be useful later.