The U.S. military said it carried out multiple airstrikes across Syria early on Saturday (10 January) as part of an operation that began last month, after it said Islamic State militants killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter in an attack on 13 December.
In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes targeted Islamic State positions throughout Syria.
The Pentagon declined to provide further details, and it remains unclear whether there were any casualties. About 1,000 U.S. troops remain deployed in the country, the military said.
The developments come as U.S. President Donald Trump has been presented with several potential options for strikes on Iran, U.S. media reported.
The New York Times said Trump had been briefed on scenarios including possible attacks on sites in Tehran that are not part of Iran’s military infrastructure. Officials cited by the paper said no final decision had been taken, but that Trump was seriously considering authorising military action.
A senior U.S. military official said commanders would require time to reinforce American positions in the region and prepare for possible Iranian retaliation.
The Wall Street Journal reported that preliminary discussions within the administration had also included the possibility of large-scale strikes on Iranian military facilities, although officials said no unified plan had yet been agreed and no deployments had been ordered.
Iran is facing its largest anti-government demonstrations in years amid economic collapse and political discontent.
Tehran fought a 12-day war with Israel last year, and its nuclear facilities were bombed by the U.S. in June.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, according to U.S. officials who said the call focused on the war in Gaza, unrest in Iran and developments in Syria, declining to provide further details.
Syria’s government, led by former rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024 after 13 years of civil war, has been cooperating with a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House late last year, when Damascus reached a new security agreement with Washington.
Meanwhile, Israel and Syria agreed earlier this week during U.S.-mediated talks in Paris to establish a communication mechanism on security and commercial issues. Washington has proposed a demilitarised economic zone along parts of the Israel–Syria border.
Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, Netanyahu has visited the United States five times, while Trump travelled to Israel in October.
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India and Brazil signed a mining and minerals cooperation pact on Saturday (21 February), as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries aim t...
At least 10 people were killed and 50 wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Friday (20 February), two security sources told Reuters,...
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday (21 February) that its forces had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine....
President Donald Trump said on Friday (20 February) he will sign an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff” on imports. The development...
Iran has warned it will respond “decisively” if subjected to military aggression, saying U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric signals “a real risk of military aggression”.
Cubans are increasingly turning to solar power to keep businesses operating and basic household appliances running during prolonged electricity cuts, as fuel shortages make diesel generators and other temporary solutions more difficult and costly to maintain.
The top U.S. military commander for Latin America, General Francis Donovan, accompanied by Senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire, made an unannounced trip to Venezuela on Wednesday for security talks, U.S. officials confirmed.
Israel is preparing for the possibility of receiving a green light from the United States to launch strikes against Iran’s ballistic missile system, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
Quentin Griffiths, co-founder of online fashion retailer ASOS, has died in Pattaya, Thailand, after falling from the 17th floor of a condominium on 9 February, Thai police confirmed.
At least four people have died and 17 others were injured after a liquid gas truck overturned and exploded in Santiago, Chile’s capital, authorities confirmed on Thursday. Police said the driver was among those killed.
Cubans are increasingly turning to solar power to keep businesses operating and basic household appliances running during prolonged electricity cuts, as fuel shortages make diesel generators and other temporary solutions more difficult and costly to maintain.
Ukraine’s National Paralympic Committee has announced it will boycott the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics in Verona on 6 March, citing the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.
Gianni Infantino, president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), announced a new partnership with the Board of Peace on Thursday (19 February), committing to build football pitches and arenas in Gaza as part of broader efforts to rebuild the region.
Germany's ruling conservatives on Saturday (21 February) passed a motion to ban social media use for under 14s and introduce more stringent digital verification checks for teenagers, building momentum for such limits in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
India and Brazil signed a mining and minerals cooperation pact on Saturday (21 February), as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries aim to increase bilateral trade to more than $20 billion within five years.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday (21 February) that its forces had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine.
President Donald Trump said on Friday (20 February) he will sign an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff” on imports. The development comes hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump's sweeping “reciprocal” import duties in a major setback to his trade agenda.
The U.S. military carried out a strike Friday (20 February) on a vessel allegedly engaged in narcotrafficking in the Eastern Pacific, according to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
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