The U.S. navy launched a 3rd spherical of retaliatory strikes in Syria on Friday, killing an Al-Qaeda-affiliated chief with ties to an ambush assault by an ISIS gunman final month that killed three Americans, U.S. officers stated.
The most recent strike was carried out in northwest Syria, U.S. Central Command introduced in a news release on Saturday.
“The demise of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three People demonstrates our resolve in pursuing terrorists who assault our forces,” stated Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “There is no such thing as a secure place for many who conduct, plot, or encourage assaults on Americans and our warfighters. We’ll discover you.”
A U.S. Air Power F-15E Strike Eagle taxis at a base within the U.S. Central Command space of accountability in help of Operation Hawkeye Strike, Jan. 10, 2026.
U.S. Central Command
The alleged Al-Qaeda-affiliated chief was recognized as Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who U.S. officers stated “was immediately related” to the ISIS gunman who killed two U.S. service members and an American civilian interpreter in Palmyra, Syria, on Dec. 13.
Within the wake of that assault, the U.S. launched a series of “large-scale strikes” in Syria in an operation dubbed Hawkeye Strike. General, the strikes, carried out with U.S. companions, have focused greater than 100 ISIS infrastructure and weapons website targets, CENTCOM stated.
The 2 U.S. troopers who have been killed in an attack in Syria have been members of the Iowa National Guard, state officers stated. They have been recognized as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa.
