U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said in a statement on X that 11 missions were carried out over the past 10 days and followed initial strikes against IS<\/a> weapons sites and infrastructure on Dec. 19, which hit 70 targets across central Syria.<\/p>\n In the operations since, the U.S. military and other forces from the region, including Syria, killed at least seven IS members, captured others and eliminated four weapons caches, U.S. Central Command said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not relent,\u201d Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the command, said in the statement. \u201cWe are steadfast in commitment to working with regional partners to root out the ISIS threat posed to U.S. and regional security.\u201d<\/p>\n Targets ranged from senior IS members who were being closely monitored by military officials to lower-level foot soldiers, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.<\/p>\n The official said a growing collaboration between the United States and Syria\u2019s relatively new government meant that U.S. forces were able to attack IS in areas of the country where they previously did not operate. Syrian forces were the driving force behind some of the missions against the militant group this year, the official added.<\/p>\n The official compared the growing cooperation to that between the U.S. and Iraq in fighting IS a decade ago and said the goal, like in Iraq, is to ultimately hand over the effort fully to the Syrians.<\/p>\n The latest operations followed a Dec. 13 ambush that occurred near the ancient city of Palmyra while American and Syrian security officials had gathered for a meeting over lunch. Two members of the Iowa National Guard<\/a> and a civilian interpreter from Michigan<\/a> were killed, while three other U.S. troops and members of Syria\u2019s security forces were wounded.<\/p>\n The gunman, who was killed, had joined Syria\u2019s internal security forces as a base security guard and recently had been reassigned because of suspicions he might be affiliated with IS, Syrian officials said.<\/p>\n The initial retaliatory strike on IS targets in Syria, which included fighter jets from Jordan, was a major test for the warming ties between the U.S. and Syria since last year\u2019s ouster of autocratic leader Bashar Assad<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Iowa_Guard_Members_Syria_96723_1e2c0c-1.jpg\")
This undated combo photo created with images released by the Iowa National Guard shows Sgts. William Nathaniel Howard, left, and Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar. (Iowa National Guard via AP)<\/p>\n