US officials have disclosed that the military of the United States targeted and killed a top militant leader who was connected to the recent ambush on American troops that resulted in US military and civilian deaths, through a series of operations that included a strike in northwest Syria Friday. The strike was part of a huge military operation that was authorized by the United States when the Islamic State related shooting incident happened on December 13 near Palmyra in which two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter died.
Operation Hawkeye Strike: Latest Updates
Among the people killed in the attack was Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who had connections to both Al-Qaeda and ISIS according to some sources. The implication is that the US forces have already carried out three more counterattacks during the course of this operation and at the same time it demonstrates the tough anti-terrorism strategy that US government has decided to adopt in this area. Military officials of the United States have depicted the strike as an unambiguous warning to radical organizations that anyone who conspires or encourages to attack US forces will be continuously hunted down.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 17, 2026
Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said that the operation is a proof of the US resolve and a commitment to the protection of its staff and allies in the region. There is no safe place for those who carry out or support attacks on US citizens and warfighters, as per official statements. The operation has taken place with the assistance of regional partners, and President Donald Trump has mentioned that the strikes’ target is the insurgents trying to reoccupy the ground lost during the chaos in Syria, which got intensified with the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad.
What Is Operation Hawkeye Strike?
The campaign is named Operation Hawkeye Strike and is characterized by joint actions of the US military along with their partners, military units of Jordan and Syria in the group targeting more than 100 sites of the Islamic State where infrastructure and weapons are located and which are spread all over the Syrian land. The aerial bombing pattern together with the latest one aims to achieve the same objectives: cripple ISIS’ power, increase the difficulty of interlinked militant organizations, and lower the risk of possible attacks on American and allied forces’ personnel in the future, thus being a part of an unbroken effort. The US government makes it clear that such military operations will occur as long as the extremist threats are part of the unstable security situation in Syria.
