Overview
- U.S. officials said fighter jets, attack helicopters, artillery and HIMARS were used, with CENTCOM sharing imagery and noting Jordanian aircraft supported the mission.
- Targets described as ISIS fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites were struck in areas including Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and the Jabal al-Amour region near Palmyra.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the operation a “declaration of vengeance” and said many enemy fighters were killed, while no casualty totals were independently confirmed.
- The action followed a Dec. 13 attack near Palmyra that killed Iowa National Guard sergeants William Nathaniel Howard and Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and U.S. interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat.
- Syrian authorities said they are committed to denying ISIS safe havens, and officials identified the Palmyra attacker as a member of Syria’s security forces suspected of Islamist extremism.