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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