US launches major retaliation, hits over 70 Islamic State targets in Syria after Palmyra attack

The United States carried out large-scale air and ground strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria after an attack that killed three Americans, prompting strong warnings from President Donald Trump.

US forces struck more than 70 Islamic State group targets across central Syria on Friday, deploying fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The action followed a December 13 attack in Palmyra that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian. Washington said the assault was carried out by a lone IS gunman in the ancient city, home to UNESCO-listed ruins and previously controlled by jihadist fighters.

CENTCOM said the operation involved more than 100 precision munitions aimed at known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.

Trump warns of harsher response

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the United States was “inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible”.

He warned that those who attack Americans “WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE.”

CENTCOM added that since the Palmyra attack, US and allied forces have carried out 10 operations in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 “terrorist operatives”, without naming specific groups.

Syria reiterates fight against IS

Syria’s foreign ministry did not directly address the US strikes but said on X that Damascus remains committed to fighting IS and ensuring the group has “no safe havens on Syrian territory”.

It said military operations would be intensified wherever IS poses a threat.

Americans killed identified

Those killed in the Palmyra attack were Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a Michigan civilian who worked as an interpreter.

Trump, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and top military officer General Dan Caine attended a ceremony on Wednesday marking the return of the bodies to the United States.

First attack since Assad’s fall

The Palmyra incident was the first such attack since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year.

Syrian interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said the attacker was a member of the security forces who was due to be dismissed over “extremist Islamist ideas”.

US mission and troop presence

The targeted US personnel were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition formed to defeat IS after it seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.

Although the group lost its territorial control following international air strikes and local ground offensives, it continues to operate, particularly in Syria’s vast desert regions.

Trump has repeatedly questioned the US military presence in Syria. While he ordered troop withdrawals during his first term, American forces remained.

In April, the Pentagon said the US would halve its troop numbers in Syria in the coming months. US envoy Tom Barrack said in June that Washington would eventually reduce its bases to one.

US forces are currently stationed in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast and at Al-Tanf near the Jordanian border.