The United States conducted extensive strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Saturday. This was part of an ongoing operation referred to as “Operation Hawkeye Strike.”
According to a statement released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on X, CENTCOM forces, in coordination with partner forces, launched coordinated attacks at approximately 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, targeting multiple ISIS sites across Syria.
Operation Hawkeye Strike was initiated on December 19, 2025, in direct response to a deadly assault perpetrated by an ISIS gunman in Palmyra, Syria on December 13, which resulted in the deaths of two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter. The operation is named in honor of the two soldiers from the state of Iowa who lost their lives in the incident.
The fallen soldiers have been identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Both served with the Iowa National Guard, which deployed approximately 1,800 troops to the Middle East earlier this year for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led mission aimed at defeating ISIS. Additionally, three other members of the Iowa National Guard sustained injuries in the attack.
A U.S. official informed CNN that over 90 precision munitions were utilized during Saturday’s operation, striking more than 35 targets through the deployment of more than two dozen aircraft.
U.S. Central Command emphasized in its statement, “Our message remains unequivocal: should our personnel be harmed, we will pursue those responsible and hold them accountable wherever they may be, regardless of efforts to elude justice.”
Currently, hundreds of American troops continue to be deployed in Syria to support the ongoing mission against ISIS. This mission was established when ISIS gained control over significant territories in Syria and Iraq in the mid-2010s. Subsequent operations by U.S. and allied forces, combined with changes in the Syrian regime, have largely eradicated ISIS’s territorial dominance.
