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January 11, 2026 — 11.48am

Washington: The United States has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

The large-scale strikes, conducted by the US alongside partner forces, occurred about 4.30am AEDT on Sunday, according to US Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria.

The US and its partner forces have carried out large-scale strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria, the US Central Command has announced.Credit: US Central Command

The strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.

“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” US Central Command said in a statement on Saturday.

A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of IS’s operations in the Levant.

The US military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.

The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.

Citizens of the Sheik Maksoud neighbourhood in Syria are evacuated to a safe area.Credit: Adri Salido / Getty Images

It was launched on December 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

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The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the US’s main partner in the fight against IS in Syria, but since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been coordinating with the central government in Damascus.

Syria recently joined the global coalition against IS.

Kurdish fighters were evacuated from a contested neighbourhood in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, officials said on Sunday, a move that could bring an end to several days of violent clashes with government forces.

State-run news agency SANA reported buses transported the last of the fighters from the Aleppo neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud to north-eastern Syria, which is under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“Through international mediation to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding leading to a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of martyrs, the wounded, trapped civilians, and fighters from the Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods to northern and eastern Syria,” SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said in a post on X.

He called for “mediators to uphold their promises to stop the violations and work towards the safe return of the displaced to their homes”.

A journalist at the scene saw buses leaving on Sunday and was told by officials that the transports carried 360 fighters. Other buses carrying civilians and detained fighters departed the previous day.

AP, Reuters