US military carries out multiple strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State

Washington launched operation in December after an attack on American personnel

File image of US marines in northern Syria. Photograph: Matthew Callahan/US Marine Corps via The New York Times
File image of US marines in northern Syria. Photograph: Matthew Callahan/US Marine Corps via The New York Times

The US military said on Saturday it ‍carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting the Islamic State militant group as part ‍of an operation that Washington launched in December after an attack on American personnel.

A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes and ground operations in Syria targeting ‌Islamic State suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces.

“The ⁠strikes today targeted Isis throughout Syria,” the US Central Command (Centcom) ‌said ​in ‍a statement, adding the strikes were carried out early afternoon US Eastern Time.

The statement did not note whether anyone was killed in the strikes. The ⁠Pentagon declined to comment on more details. The US state department did ⁠not immediately respond to a ⁠request for comment.

Saturday’s attacks were part of an operation launched last month after Islamic State militants killed US ‍military personnel in Syria, Centcom said. The US military said two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in that December 13th incident.

About 1,000 US troops remain in Syria.

Syria’s government is led by ex-rebels who toppled former president Bashar al-Assad in 2024 after a 13-year civil ‌war, and includes members of ‌Syria’s former al-Qaeda branch who broke with the group and clashed with Islamic State.

Syria has been ‌cooperating with a US-led coalition against Islamic State, reaching an agreement late last ⁠year when president Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026

  • Understand world events with Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter

  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date

  • Listen to In The News podcast daily for a deep dive on the stories that matter