Washington: The United States announced a large-scale airstrike against the ISIS terrorist organization in Syria last night, involving 20 aircraft, including Jordanian Air Force fighter jets, in response to an attack that killed three Americans last month.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated via its X platform that the strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye, launched “in response to the attack carried out by the organization against US and Syrian forces in Palmyra” on December 13.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on December 20 the launch of a military operation against ISIS in Syria, in response to the Palmyra attack that killed three Americans. Hegseth said in a post on X that US forces had begun Operation Hawkeye in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons storage sites, in direct response to the attack that targeted forces in Palmyra.

For its part, Jordan announced this morning, Sunday, the participation of the Jordanian Air Force in the US strikes against ISIS in Syria. Jordanian media outlets reported that “the Jordanian Armed Forces, through the Royal Jordanian Air Force, conducted precise airstrikes last night targeting a number of ISIS terrorist targets in several areas within Syrian territory, as part of ongoing regional and international efforts to combat terrorism.”

They added that “the operations were carried out in coordination with partners within the framework of the international coalition, in which the Syrian state participates, in an effort to neutralize the capabilities of terrorist groups and prevent them from reorganizing or using these areas as launching pads to threaten the security of neighboring countries and regional security.”

They affirmed that “this participation comes within the Kingdom’s policy of combating terrorism and extremism, defending its national security, and contributing to maintaining security and stability in the region.”