ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US military said on Tuesday that it had killed seven suspected Islamic State (ISIS) operatives in Syria over the past ten days in collaboration with partner forces, after a deadly ISIS attack earlier this month killed three American personnel. 

“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partners across Syria killed at least seven ISIS members and captured the remainder during 11 missions conducted Dec. 20-29. The operations also led to the elimination of four ISIS weapons caches,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

The missions followed another major anti-ISIS campaign in Syria launched by Washington earlier in December, dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was carried out in retaliation for an ISIS attack on US and Syrian personnel in the Palmyra desert region which killed two US troops and an American civil interpreter. 

“The massive strikes executed by dozens of fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, and artillery destroyed ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria,” the statement added. 

In 2025, ISIS carried out at least 11 plots or attacks against targets in the US, CENTCOM said. “In response, U.S. and partner forces in Syria have conducted operations during the last 12 months that resulted in more than 300 terrorists being detained and over 20 killed.”

Despite being territorially defeated in 2019, ISIS still poses a security threat across Syria, with the extremist group mostly resorting to hit-and-run attacks.

“Continuing to hunt down terrorist operatives, eliminate ISIS networks, and work with partners to prevent an ISIS resurgence makes America, the region, and the world safer,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated.

Syria joined the international coalition in November, becoming the body’s 90th partner to join the global fight against ISIS.

The announcement was made a day after Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the US and met with US President Donald Trump, during which Washington temporarily suspended key Caesar Act sanctions on Damascus and suggested that Syria should join the coalition.