The barrage of airstrikes launched by the United States across Syria late on Friday underscored the challenges facing the country’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as he struggles to assert control over the nation and navigate a fragile, nascent relationship with President Trump.
American fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery attacked more than 70 suspected Islamic State positions across central Syria, targeting the group’s infrastructure and weapons sites, according to the U.S. military’s Central Command. Jordanian warplanes assisted in the operation, it said.
The Syrian government did not comment directly on the extensive strikes but said in a statement early on Saturday that it was intensifying its own military operations against the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS.
“The Syrian Arab Republic invites the United States and member states of the international coalition to support these efforts in a manner that contributes to the protection of civilians and the restoration of security and stability in the region,” the statement said.
Since Syria joined a global coalition to defeat the Islamic State last month, the group has ramped up its attacks, according to American and Syrian officials, as well as security experts.
The U.S. strikes came a week after Mr. Trump said he would retaliate against ISIS for killing two American soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter in the ancient city of Palmyra.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for that attack, though initial assessments suggest that it was most likely carried out by the Islamic State, according to the Pentagon and American intelligence officials.
Syrian officials said the gunman was a member of the country’s security forces who was slated to be removed from duty because of his extremist beliefs. The killings exposed persistent weaknesses within Syria’s security structure. Some supporters of Mr. Trump have called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Mr. al-Sharaa and his rebel forces swept to power just over a year ago after toppling Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s longtime dictator. The country has since grappled with a shattered economy, rising sectarian violence, political instability and the growing threat of terrorism.
Mr. Trump and Mr. al-Sharaa have maintained a warm relationship, even meeting at the White House in November. This week, Washington repealed a final batch of crippling sanctions on Syria.
After the deadly attack on Americans last week, Mr. Trump reiterated his support for Mr. al-Sharaa.
“This had nothing to do with him,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Monday. “This is a part of Syria that they really don’t have much control over. And it was a surprise. He feels very badly about it. He’s working on it. He’s a strong man.”
The U.S. carried out large-scale attacks against ISIS when Mr. al-Assad still ruled Syria. Though the group’s power has significantly diminished in recent years, largely because of military defeats and loss of territory, it still maintains a presence in the deserts of central Syria.
This month, the group claimed to have killed four Syrian government officers in the Idlib governorate in the country’s northwest. It also claimed two attacks in the Deir al-Zour governorate in the east, one of which involved targeting an army vehicle with an explosive device.
Abdi Latif Dahir is the East Africa correspondent for The Times, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He covers a broad range of issues including geopolitics, business, society and arts.
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