WASHINGTON: The US has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Daesh in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.
The large-scale strikes, conducted by the US alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to US Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Daesh targets across Syria.
Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly Daesh attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.
“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” US Central Command said in a statement Saturday.
A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of Daesh’s operations in the Levant.
The US military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.
The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.
It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had Daesh infrastructure and weapons.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the US’s main partner in the fight against Daesh in Syria, but since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been coordinating with the central government in Damascus.
Syria recently joined the global coalition against Daesh.
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US launches new retaliatory strikes against Daesh in Syria after deadly ambush
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US launches new retaliatory strikes against Daesh in Syria after deadly ambush
- CENTCOM said operation ordered by President Donald Trump
- Launched in response to the deadly Dec. 13 Daesh attack in Palmyra
Outcry as French journalist held for covering Istanbul protest
The French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,“
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura
ISTANBUL: A French journalist arrested while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul remained in police custody on Tuesday, prompting growing calls for his release, including from France’s government.
Raphael Boukandoura, who works for various French publications, including well-known outlets Liberation and Courrier International, was detained late Monday at a protest over a military operation targeting Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
Boukandoura has lived legally in Turkiye for at least a decade and holds an official press card.
In a statement to AFP, the French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,” indicating its diplomats in Turkiye were “closely monitoring the situation.”
At the protest, called by the pro-Kurdish party DEM, party officials called for “an immediate halt to the attacks” and the protection of civilians in northeastern Syria.
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura.
Two weeks ago, Syrian government troops launched an offensive against Kurdish-led forces — an operation publicly welcomed by Turkiye, despite its own efforts to pursue a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to the rights group MLSA, Boukandoura told police he was present strictly as a journalist and covering the protest for the French daily Liberation.
Erol Onderoglu of media-rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the detention as “arbitrary.”
“Boukandoura is not a protester, and he cannot be treated as a criminal simply because he is a journalist, he is performing a public service,” he told AFP.
“This grave injustice must be reversed.”
Liberation, along with Courrier International, Mediapart, and Ouest-France — other outlets that have published Boukandoura’s work — all issued statements calling for his immediate release.
France’s National Union of Journalists (SNJ) also urged Turkish authorities to free him, saying he was “simply doing his job.”
“Freedom of information is a fundamental right,” the union said.
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura
ISTANBUL: A French journalist arrested while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul remained in police custody on Tuesday, prompting growing calls for his release, including from France’s government.
Raphael Boukandoura, who works for various French publications, including well-known outlets Liberation and Courrier International, was detained late Monday at a protest over a military operation targeting Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
Boukandoura has lived legally in Turkiye for at least a decade and holds an official press card.
In a statement to AFP, the French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,” indicating its diplomats in Turkiye were “closely monitoring the situation.”
At the protest, called by the pro-Kurdish party DEM, party officials called for “an immediate halt to the attacks” and the protection of civilians in northeastern Syria.
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura.
Two weeks ago, Syrian government troops launched an offensive against Kurdish-led forces — an operation publicly welcomed by Turkiye, despite its own efforts to pursue a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to the rights group MLSA, Boukandoura told police he was present strictly as a journalist and covering the protest for the French daily Liberation.
Erol Onderoglu of media-rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the detention as “arbitrary.”
“Boukandoura is not a protester, and he cannot be treated as a criminal simply because he is a journalist, he is performing a public service,” he told AFP.
“This grave injustice must be reversed.”
Liberation, along with Courrier International, Mediapart, and Ouest-France — other outlets that have published Boukandoura’s work — all issued statements calling for his immediate release.
France’s National Union of Journalists (SNJ) also urged Turkish authorities to free him, saying he was “simply doing his job.”
“Freedom of information is a fundamental right,” the union said.
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