U.S. forces struck more than 70 targets across central Syria after a December 13 Islamic State attack in Palmyra.
A Syria war monitor said at least five IS members, including a drone cell leader, were killed in Deir Ezzor.
CENTCOM said over 100 precision munitions were used against IS infrastructure without ground operations.
At least five Islamic State (IS) members, including a cell leader, were killed in overnight U.S. strikes across central and eastern Syria, a war monitor said on Saturday (December 20, 2025), as Washington retaliated for an attack last weekend that left three Americans dead.
According to AFP, the strikes followed a December 13 attack in the ancient city of Palmyra, where Washington said a lone gunman from the IS jihadist group killed two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian. Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ruins, was once controlled by jihadist fighters.
In response, the United States “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery”, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement, AFP reported.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that “at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed” in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. Those killed included the leader of a cell responsible for drone operations in the area, he said.
A Syrian security source told AFP that the U.S. strikes targeted IS cells operating in Syria’s vast Badia desert, including areas in Homs, Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces. The source said the operation did not involve any ground forces.
Most of the targets were located in a mountainous belt running north of Palmyra and extending towards Deir Ezzor, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to AFP, the Badia desert has long been used by IS cells as a base for movement and attacks despite the group’s territorial defeat.
Using another acronym for the group, CENTCOM said “the operation employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites”.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States is “inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible”. He added that those who attack Americans “wil be hit harder than you have ever been hit before”.
AFP reported that the strikes underscore Washington’s continued military campaign against IS remnants in Syria, particularly in desert regions where cells remain active despite years of counter-terror operations.
(With inputs from AFP)
