The United States has intensified its military campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria under Operation Hawkeye Strike, a sustained air offensive aimed at degrading the group’s operational capabilities. According to the US Central Command, American forces carried out ten strikes between February 3 and February 12, targeting more than 30 Islamic State locations. The latest operations followed a series of earlier strikes between January 27 and February 2, targeting communication sites and supply nodes.
The renewed campaign was launched in response to a deadly ambush on December 13, near Palmyra, in which Islamic State militants attacked American and Syrian forces. Two US soldiers, Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, were killed in the assault, along with a civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat. The attack underscored the group’s continued ability to mount lethal operations despite years of territorial losses. Over two months of targeted actions, CENTCOM reports that more than 50 Islamic State operatives have been killed or captured and over 100 infrastructure targets destroyed. The objective, officials say, is not only to eliminate fighters but to disrupt the networks that enable the group to regenerate.
For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East
Even as American air power degrades physical assets, concerns are mounting over the Islamic State’s efforts to destabilise Syria’s fragile political transition. A United Nations report released in mid-February disclosed that President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who assumed office in December 2024 following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, has survived five attempted assassinations over the past year. The plots also targeted senior cabinet figures, including Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. The report attributes the operations to Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, assessed to be a front organisation for the Islamic State, allowing the group to operate with plausible deniability while preserving operational flexibility.
The assassination attempts are aimed at generating political shock, eroding public confidence in the government in Damascus and to claim continued relevance. Although the Islamic State no longer controls much territory, it retains the intent and capability to exploit security gaps through its sleeper cells and covert networks that remain active.
These developments coincide with a broader recalibration of US policy in Syria. American forces recently confirmed their withdrawal from the Al-Tanf garrison near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, a base held for nearly a decade and long regarded as strategically significant. The Syrian Ministry of Defence subsequently announced that government forces had assumed control of the site. It shows the Pentagon’s changing approach, reducing the reliance on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and towards closer coordination with the central government.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly commended Damascus for formally joining the international coalition against the Islamic State in November. Syrian officials have stressed that their participation is political and coordinative rather than an integration into US command structures.
While the realignment takes place, the fate of thousands of Islamic State detainees presents a dilemma. The US recently facilitated the transfer of more than 5,700 detainees to Iraq at Baghdad’s request. The prisoners, originating from 61 countries, are expected to face trial in Iraqi courts. The transfer was intended to prevent a security vacuum that could allow escapes or renewed militant mobilisation.
Yet a far larger challenge persists in the detention camps housing families associated with the Islamic State. As of December, the Al-Hol and Roj camps still held over 25,000 individuals, more than 60 per cent of them children. International concern has grown over the conditions in these camps and the risks posed by radicalisation, neglect and potential unrest.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, has warned the Security Council that any security vacuum in these facilities could destabilise the wider region. While expressing support for Syria’s sovereignty and the new government’s efforts to restore territorial integrity, Tehran has also urged accelerated repatriation of foreign fighters and their families.
Despite sustained pressure, around 3,000 Islamic State fighters remain active across Iraq and Syria. Through sporadic attacks on checkpoints and patrols, they continue to remind that insurgency remains a persistent and adaptive threat.