Donald Trump keeps his promise and moves from threats to facts. A week after the killing of three Americans in the Palmyra region, the president of the United States has ordered a major offensive against the Islamic State in Syria.
US offensive against ISIS after the Palmyra attack
Over 70 ISIS targets in different areas were hit in a massive wave of raids as part of Operation “Hawkeye”, the US Central Command, Centcom, said. “A very strong retaliation,” Trump called it, warning that anyone who attacks or threatens the United States “will be hit harder than ever.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least five ISIS members, including the leader of a cell responsible for the use of drones, were killed in the US bombings.
A Syrian security source told AFP that the raids targeted jihadist cells in the Badia desert, including the provinces of Homs, Deir az Zor and Raqqa, and did not include ground operations. Most of the targets were located in a mountainous area north of Palmyra. The military action, launched with fighter planes, attack helicopters and artillery, enjoys the support of the Damascus government, Trump underlined.
Jordanian jets participated in the operation as part of the international anti-ISIS Coalition, which was recently joined by the Syria of the now no longer new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The rapprochement between Syria and the United States
The interim president had visited the White House at the beginning of November to conclude a rehabilitation process which also led to the definitive removal of sanctions against the country, just a few days ago.
The Palmyra incident is the first of its kind since forces led by al-Sharaa overthrew the government of Bashar al-Assad and restored ties with Washington.
From former jihadist to Washington interlocutor
Known in the past as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, former jihadist and leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Hts), the Syrian president was wanted by the United States for years and had a 10 million dollar bounty on him for terrorism, which was removed in December 2024.
Al-Sharaa distanced itself from al-Qaeda years ago, disbanded the original group and initiated a change presented as moderate.
The December 12 attack and Trump’s promised response
Operation Hawkeye follows the Dec. 12 attack in Palmyra, where an Islamic State-affiliated sniper, who was later killed, opened fire on a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol, resulting in the deaths of two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter.
The Damascus authorities arrested several members of the security forces after ascertaining that the attacker was part of it and was suspected of extremist sympathies.
An announced retaliation and military escalation
In the days following the incident, Trump promised a “strong” response and welcomed the coffins of the three killed fellow citizens to Dover.
Now that threat has translated into one of the largest military operations against ISIS in recent months, while on the ground there are new movements and reinforcements of US forces in the north-east of the country. A sign of strategic continuity in a region that remains marked by profound instability.