The United States of America and Jordan have carried out a major military operation named Operation Hawkeye Strike in Syria. The objective of this operation was to weaken ISIS by targeting its fighters, weapons, and bases.
- The United States of America and Jordan have carried out a major military operation named Operation Hawkeye Strike in Syria. This action took place after an ISIS attack in which two American soldiers were killed and three others were injured in the Syrian city of Palmyra.
- The objective of this operation was to weaken ISIS by targeting its fighters, weapons, and bases. Operation Hawkeye Strike is a joint military mission of the US and Jordanian forces. Heavy airstrikes were carried out on ISIS bases across Syria.
- More than 70 ISIS bases were targeted, and more than 100 precision-guided weapons were used. The operation focused on ISIS fighters, weapons, and infrastructure.
- According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), this mission demonstrated the US policy of maintaining security through strength.
- A US official stated that the strikes were carried out using US F-15 and A-10 jets as well as Apache helicopters and the HIMARS rocket system. About 1,000 US troops are present in Syria.
- Syria’s government is being led by former rebels who removed leader Bashar al-Assad from power last year after a 13-year civil war, and it includes members of Syria’s former al-Qaeda branch who severed ties with the group and fought against the Islamic State.
- Syria is cooperating with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, and an agreement was reached last month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.
Syria
- Is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north and northwest, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest.
- It is a republic under a provisional government and has 14 governorates. Damascus is its capital and largest city. With an area of 185,180 square kilometers (71,500 sq mi) and a population of 26 million, it is the 56th most populous and the 87th largest country.
Jordan
- Is a country in the southern Levant region of Western Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west.
- The Jordan River, which flows into the Dead Sea, is located in the Jordan Rift Valley along the country’s western border. Jordan has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the southwest, separated from Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba. Amman is the capital and largest city of the country, and also the most populous city in the Levant.
- Jordan is a semi-arid country with an area of 89,342 square km (34,495 square miles) and a population of 11.5 million, making it the eleventh most populous Arab country. The majority population, or about 95% of the country’s population, is Sunni Muslim, with the remainder mostly Arab Christians.
Islamic State (IS)
- Originating from Jaish al-Taifa al-Mansura, founded in 2004 by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the organization affiliated itself with al-Qaeda in Iraq and fought alongside it during the 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency.
- Also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and Daesh, it is a transnational Salafi jihadist terrorist organization.
- IS captured large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2013, but lost most of its territory between 2017 and 2019. In 2014, the group declared itself a worldwide caliphate and claimed religious and political authority over all Muslims worldwide, a claim that was rejected by most Muslims.
- The group has carried out terrorist massacres in areas outside its control, such as the November 2015 Paris attacks, the 2024 Kerman bombings in Iran, and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Russia.
- By March 2019, IS lost its last territory in West Asia, although by 2025 its affiliates continue to maintain a significant regional presence in Africa.
