Explained: Why The US Carried Out Operation Hawkeye Strike Against ISIS In Syria

On December 19, 2025, the United States initiated a large military operation against Islamic State (ISIS) positions in central Syria, allowing the killing of two soldiers and a civilian interpreter of the month to justify its actions. The operation was called Operation Hawkeye and included intense aerial and ground support attacking more than 70 links to ISIS that included fighters, weapons missing vehicles, and the group’s infrastructure in Syria’s various provinces. The US military made use of fighter jets like F-15s and A-10s, Apache helicopters and advanced missile systems like HIMARS to hit high value places found by the intelligence community. 

What is Operation Hawkeye?

Operation Hawkeye was characterized by US officials in unambiguous terms as a revenge attack, not rather than the beginning of a new war. The US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the military action ‘a declaration of vengeance’ and stressed that the bombing would make it harder for ISIS to operate and, at the same time, send a strong message to those militants who kill Americans in other countries, saying that they would not get away with it. Hegseth also said that the US forces would be there to get both, ISIS and the assets, claiming that the US was committed to rendering its people and interests safe. President Donald Trump was in sync with this view, saying that the U.S. reply would continue to be vigorous, and that terrorists who dare to threaten Americans would suffer a very heavy price.

Why Did The US Carried Out Operation Hawkeye Strike Against ISIS In Syria?

The incident of the ambush connected with ISIS that occurred on December 13, 2025, near Palmyra, resulting in the death of two American soldiers and an interpreter, was what triggered Operation Hawkeye Strike. Moreover, the attack also injured some other US military personnel. The terrorist organization, though defeated in the sense of losing territory as a caliphate, has not been totally eradicated and is still active in the form of insurgent cells that can carry out deadly attacks on the coalition forces. The tragic event in Palmyra was one of the few instances in the past years where US troops faced combat deaths in Syria that has brought back the concerns over the radical militants in the area who are still a threat and have not been eradicated completely.

Though the US operation was quite large, officials pointed to the fact that the Syrian authorities were in favor of it this being an unusual coalition considering the country’s intricate conflict. The present day Syrian government, which consists primarily of former insurgent factions that forced Bashar al Assad to leave, openly supported the airstrikes and reiterated that it would not allow ISIS to set up any strongholds in the country. This collaboration is a signal of changing loyalties within the area, where despite general political strains, US and Syrian forces have more and more frequently found common ground in the fight against the extremist remnants.

US Counter ISIS fight 

The military operation named Hawkeye is symptomatic of the larger US counter ISIS fight which has been going on for a long time and was even there during the time of the terrorist organization’s loss of control over land in the late 2010s. The US has approximately one thousand soldiers stationed in Syria and they are still working hand in hand with local and coalition forces to dismantle militant networks and take measures against their reappearance, through a strategy that combines intelligence led operations with precision strikes. So far, the Pentagon has not revealed the complete picture of the aftermath which included the number of dead ISIS fighters or the amount of the infrastructure that was destroyed, but officials referred to the operation as dealing a fatal blow that was meant to reduce the group’s capacity to carry out attacks in the future. The US keeps on saying that ‘killing ISIS’ is one of the most important factors of the area’s peace and its own security.

Also Read: US Launches Massive Airstrikes On ISIS In Syria After Deadly Ambush