US strike eliminates al Qaeda operative connected to ISIS ambush that killed 3 Americans in Syria
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday a leader affiliated with al Qaeda, who had direct ties to an ISIS terrorist responsible for killing two U.S. service members and an American interpreter on Dec. 13, was killed in a U.S. strike in northwest Syria on Friday.
CENTCOM officials said Bilal Hasan al-Jasim was an experienced terrorist leader who plotted attacks and was “directly connected” with the ISIS gunman who killed and injured American and Syrian personnel last month in Palmyra, Syria.
“The death of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our resolve in pursuing terrorists who attack our forces,” said CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper. “There is no safe place for those who conduct, plot, or inspire attacks on American citizens and our warfighters. We will find you.”
CENTCOM launched large-scale strikes in Syria in response to the Dec. 13 attack.
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Operation Hawkeye Strike resulted in U.S. and partner forces hitting more than 100 ISIS infrastructure and weapons site targets with over 200 precision munitions.
More than 300 ISIS operatives were captured and more than 20 were killed across Syria within the past year, according to CENTCOM.
U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, and members of their team in Damascus on Jan. 10 to discuss recent developments in Aleppo and the broader path forward for Syria’s historic transition.
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In a statement on X, Barrack said President Donald Trump agreed to lift sanctions in order to “give Syria a chance” to move forward.
“The United States Government welcomes Syria’s historic transition and extends its support to the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa as it works to stabilize the country, rebuild national institutions, and fulfill the aspirations of all Syrians for peace, security, and prosperity,” Barrack wrote in the post.
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He added Syrian government has reaffirmed its commitment to the March 2025 integration agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but called developments in Aleppo that “appear to challenge the terms of this agreement,” deeply concerning.
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“We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately cease hostilities, and return to dialogue in accordance with the March 10 and April 1, 2025 agreements between the Syrian government and the SDF,” Barrack wrote. “Violence risks undermining the progress achieved since the fall of the Assad regime and invites external interference that serves no party’s interests. … The objective remains a sovereign, unified Syria—at peace with itself and its neighbors—where equality, justice, and opportunity are extended to all its people.”
US troops pull out of major Iraq airbase amid ongoing regional consolidation effort, progress against ISIS
U.S. troops have pulled out of Ain al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, Fox News has learned.
The withdrawal from the base, which is part of an ongoing effort to consolidate troops in the region that was announced last fall, was completed by Friday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) sources told Fox News.
“We’re able to consolidate because of the significant progress made there — ISIS in Iraq doesn’t pose a threat beyond Iraq’s capacity to handle on their own,” a U.S. official told Fox News. The officials added that it speaks to “our success in rooting out the ISIS threat in Iraq and Iraqi forces’ willingness and progress in standing on their own.”
The official added that U.S. forces are consolidating outside of federal Iraqi territory, meaning they’re concentrating forces elsewhere to focus on engaging remnants of ISIS in Syria.
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The move comes as CENTCOM is calling for cooperation and teamwork among Syrian partners in coordination with American forces to combat ISIS.
“We welcome ongoing efforts by all parties in Syria to prevent escalation and pursue resolution through dialogue. We also urge Syrian government forces to cease any offensive actions in areas between Aleppo and al-Tabqa. Aggressively pursuing ISIS and relentlessly applying military pressure requires teamwork among Syrian partners and coordination with U.S. and coalition forces. A Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors is essential to peace and stability across the region,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement posted on X.
The statement appeared to be a call for additional coordination in countering ISIS rather than a warning to Damascus.
On Jan. 10, CENTCOM announced that the U.S., alongside partner forces, conducted large-scale strikes against ISIS targets in Syria.
According to CENTCOM, the strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was announced on Dec. 19, 2025 at the direction of President Donald Trump. The operation was launched “in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on U.S. and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
DEADLY STRIKE ON US TROOPS TESTS TRUMP’S COUNTER-ISIS PLAN — AND HIS TRUST IN SYRIA’S NEW LEADER
The Jan. 10 strikes came as U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said he met in Damascus with Syria’s new leadership to discuss the country’s future.
“Today, on behalf of President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, I met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, and members of their team in Damascus,” Barrack wrote on X.
Barrack said the talks focused on “recent developments in Aleppo and the broader path forward for Syria’s historic transition,” adding that the United States “welcomes Syria’s historic transition and extends its support to the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.”
US ANNOUNCES MORE MILITARY ACTIONS AGAINST ISIS: ‘WE WILL NOT RELENT’
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the launch of Operation Hawkeye Strike back in December, saying it was in response to an attack on U.S. forces in Syria that occurred on Dec. 13. Hegseth said the actions were “not the beginning of a war” but rather “a declaration of vengeance.”
“Earlier today, U.S. forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria,” Hegseth wrote on X.
On Dec. 19, American military forces employed more than 100 precision munitions to strike more than 70 targets of suspected ISIS sites at several locations across the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
Trump previously vowed revenge on the terror group after the soldiers — Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa — and interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat of Michigan — were killed while conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region.
The gunman was killed by partner forces.
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“Because of ISIS’s vicious killing of brave American Patriots in Syria, whose beautiful souls I welcomed home to American soil earlier this week in a very dignified ceremony, I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” he wrote on Truth Social on Dec. 19.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Louis Casiano, and Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Lindsey Graham speaks against pending execution of 26-year-old Iranian protester: ‘This regime must fall’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is calling for the end of the Iranian regime amid ongoing protests and as the country holds its breath to see if a 26-year-old protester will be executed, something President Donald Trump has said could trigger U.S. intervention.
“I read with great sadness and heartache about the pending execution of Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old shopkeeper. He is facing death at the hands of the ayatollah simply for protesting in the street for a better life. His family is calling on the world to come to their son’s aid,” Graham wrote in a post on X along with an article about Soltani.
“I hope and pray that the execution does not go forward and this young man does not forfeit his life because he wants to live in freedom without fear,” the senator added. “This regime must fall, and the Iranian people must have a better life.”
Graham said that he believes if the regime falls and the “murderous ayatollah running Iran” is gone, the impact on the region “would be incredibly positive.” He also warned, however, that if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were to remain in power, it would be “a giant step backward into the darkness.”
LINDSEY GRAHAM CALLS FOR US TO USE ‘ANY MEANS NECESSARY’ TO STOP THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE KILLING OF IRANIANS
Soltani’s story has spread in recent days as the unrest in Iran continues. The 26-year-old was arrested in Fardis and was sentenced to death after an expedited trial, according to ABC News, which cited Soltani’s second cousin, Somayeh.
“As someone who is an activist myself and who has fought this regime for many years, I felt it was my right — and my duty — to be Erfan’s voice outside the country, despite all the pressure and sanctions that fall on families,” Somayeh, who is based in Germany, told ABC News.
Iranians began protesting in late December amid worsening economic conditions. Earlier this month, the regime instituted a nationwide internet blackout, blocking demonstrators from contacting each other or the outside world amid international fears that protesters would be met with violence and death.
TOP IRAN PRAYER LEADER WHO DUBBED PROTESTERS ‘TRUMP’S SOLDIERS’ CALLS FOR EXECUTIONS AMID ONGOING UNREST
On Jan. 2, just days after the protests erupted, Trump said the U.S. was “locked and loaded” and ready to take action if the regime used violence against demonstrators. One day after the threat was made, the U.S. captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, adding weight to Trump’s words, though no known action has been taken yet.
Trump claimed on Wednesday the administration was told “on good authority” that the killing in Iran had stopped.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and it’s stopped and stopping, and there’s no plan for executions or an execution,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “So, I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it.”
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On Friday, he seemed to double down on the idea that the regime had stopped using violence when he issued a Truth Social post saying that Iran had cancelled over 800 scheduled hangings.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The fate of Soltani remains unclear, as does the prospect of U.S. intervention in Iran.
Former Iranian prisoners reveal torture horrors as regime kills protesters on sight during crackdown
As protests spread across Iran and security forces intensify their crackdown, former political prisoners are warning that what is visible on the streets represents only a fraction of the violence unfolding behind prison walls.
In interviews with Fox News Digital, three former detainees described a system designed not just to punish dissent, but to break it through solitary confinement, beatings, medical neglect and threats of execution.
Their accounts span nearly two decades, from the 2009 uprising to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and the current wave of unrest, pointing to what they describe as a consistent and escalating pattern of abuse.
Maryam Shariatmadari, one of the faces of the “Girls of Revolution Street” protests against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws, was sentenced to one year in prison in March 2018 for what authorities described as “encouraging corruption by removing her hijab.”
IRANIAN STUDENT SHOT IN HEAD AT CLOSE RANGE AMID PROTESTS, BODY BURIED ALONG ROADSIDE
Speaking this week, Shariatmadari said the scale of the current protests has pushed the regime beyond its capacity to detain demonstrators.
“According to the testimonies of eyewitnesses, the suppressive forces of the Islamic Republic … are delivering ‘final shots’ to wounded protesters, killing them on the spot,” she said. “This has been unprecedented over the past 47 years and indicates that the number of detainees has become so large that the Islamic Republic no longer has the capacity to hold them and is killing them without any form of trial.”
She said that while detainees in earlier uprisings were transferred to prisons or unofficial “safe houses,” authorities expanded detention during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests to schools, ambulances and food transport vehicles.
“They used ambulances and food transport vehicles to detain protesters, something I believe to be unprecedented in human history,” Shariatmadari said.
IRAN PROTESTS SPARK REGIME SURVIVAL QUESTION AS EXILED DISSIDENT SAYS IT FEELS LIKE A ‘REVOLUTION’
She described systematic abuse Inside detention centers.
“These include beatings, transfers to prisons without separation based on the type of offense and the deliberate incitement of other inmates to harass and abuse us,” she said.
One of her most traumatic experiences occurred during interrogation.
“I was ordered to remove my clothes and remain completely naked for a body search while cameras were present,” Shariatmadari said. “I knew that men were watching me, and I could hear their voices.”
She also recalled being denied urgent medical care after an injury.
“Only after approximately 24 hours was I taken to a hospital to undergo surgery,” she said. “I believe this happened as a result of media pressure and public support.”
IRAN FLIPS ‘KILL SWITCH’ TO HIDE ALLEGED CRIMES AS DEATH TOLL RISES AMID PROTESTS
Eight hours a day, blindfolded
Shariatmadari’s husband, Mehdi Ghadimi, a freelance journalist who worked with reformist newspapers Etemad and Shargh, was arrested in January 2023 during protests and taken to an undisclosed location. He spent nearly his entire detention in solitary confinement.
“I was interrogated twice daily, morning and afternoon, for eight hours with my eyes blindfolded,” Ghadimi said.
In the final days of his detention, he was transferred to a shared cell, where he encountered detainees from across Iranian society.
“I encountered students, workers, technical specialists and others who had been arrested during the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement,” he said.
According to Ghadimi, detainees accused of supporting the Pahlavi dynasty were beaten more severely.
“Because their slogans and symbols supported the Pahlavi dynasty, they were beaten far more than the others,” he said.
Based on his experience, he warned that current detainees are likely to face even harsher treatment.
“I can only imagine that this time all detainees will face similarly brutal treatment,” Ghadimi said, adding that Iran’s judiciary chief has publicly signaled a hard line.
Ghadimi, who fled the country in 2024, also cited figures circulating among activists claiming well over the 2,600 detainees reported, likely dwarfing that number. He said the number of detainees is likely far higher than the 10,000 reported.
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“On the other side of those bars is hell”
Shabnam Madadzadeh, who was imprisoned during the 2009 uprising, said watching the current protests has revived memories of extreme brutality and raised fears of mass executions.
“What immediately comes to my mind is the regime’s sheer brutality in torture and killing,” Madadzadeh said.
She said detention centers were already overflowing during the 2009 protests.
“There was no space left for detainees. Even the solitary cells were overflowing with people,” she said.
Madadzadeh recalled interrogators accusing nearly everyone arrested of links to the Mujahedin-e Khalq and described torture and beatings “to the point of killing.”
One threat made during her interrogation still haunts her.
“He told me, ‘If we are going to be overthrown, we will kill all of you. We will leave no one alive,’” she said.
She warned that the current internet blackout has heightened the danger for detainees.
“We truly do not know what level of brutality is currently taking place inside the prisons,” Madadzadeh said, adding that information reaching her suggests the regime is seeking to carry out executions quickly.
Citing Iran’s past, she warned of the risk of mass killings similar to the 1988 executions of political prisoners.
“Today, at a moment when the regime is on the brink of collapse, there is a real danger that such a massacre could be repeated,” she said.
Madadzadeh said young detainees are likely facing forced confessions, mock executions and threats of sexual violence.
“Whatever I do to you, no one will hear your voice,” an interrogator once told her, she recalled.
She also emphasized the suffering of families searching for loved ones.
“Families are moving between detention centers, prisons, morgues and cemeteries,” she said. “This uncertainty itself is the greatest form of torture.”
As the protests continue, all three former prisoners said the outside world must not look away.
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“The first thing I expect the free world to understand is the true voice of the people inside Iran,” Shariatmadari said. “The people of Iran are united in their demand for regime change and want to restore Iran to its former dignity, a dignity in which human rights and human worth were respected.”
Ghadimi echoed that warning.
“Without a doubt, when the regime displays such open violence in the streets, even worse atrocities occur behind prison walls,” he said. “I can only imagine that this time all detainees will face similarly brutal treatment.”
For Madadzadeh, the danger is immediate.
“The world must respond decisively to this brutality,” she said. “Every minute of delay costs lives.”
She called for international action.
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“Force the regime to allow independent visits to prisons and to the secret detention centers run by the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence,” Madadzadeh said. “Lives depend on it.”
Together, their testimony paints a stark picture of Iran’s prisons as the hidden front line of repression and a warning that what remains unseen may be even more deadly than what is already visible in the streets.
Jeb Bush heaps praise on Trump’s ‘unprecedented support’ for Iranians 10 years after heated primary
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush credited his former political foe President Donald Trump‘s “historic leadership” on pushing for a denuclearized and democratized Iran, saying that his current organization — United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) — stands ready to help Trump and the people of Iran against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
With Trump’s emergence into presidential politics in 2015, he found his top rival in the former Florida governor, notably dubbing him “Low-Energy Jeb” — as the Republican scion hit back that the mogul could not “insult his way to the presidency.”
This week, détente appeared to emerge between the two as Bush heaped praise on Trump’s position after the president urged Iranian “patriots [to] keep protesting.”
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“Take over your institutions. Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
“President Trump continues to demonstrate historic leadership on Iran, with unprecedented support for the Iranian people as they face bullets for freedom. We at UANI join him in standing with the brave people of Iran.”
Bush leads UANI alongside former Ambassador Mark Wallace, the ex-husband of MS-NOW host Nicolle Wallace and a key diplomat in Bush’s brother’s White House.
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“UANI applauds President Trump’s unprecedented support of the people of Iran as they fight to reclaim their country,” Bush and Wallace said in a statement.
“For far too long, the United States and the West have equivocated in expressing support for the people of Iran in the face of the Ayatollah’s violence and repression.”
“President Trump’s post made clear that no longer will the United States and the West lack the moral clarity to support the people of Iran as they face bullets for freedom. That change is historic.”
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Trump has been praised for taking a harder line than recent presidents against Iran, cancelling talks with Tehran leaders after reports surfaced that they were shooting and killing protesters in the streets.
“UANI joins with President Trump and stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against the Ayatollah,” Bush and Wallace added.
Their group is a nonprofit, nonpartisan one, formed to combat threats posed by Iran.
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The tenor between the two Republican stalwarts is a marked change from the turbulent 2016 sweeps.
At the time, Trump often mocked Bush for his family’s involvement in the race, reportedly saying, “Your mom can’t help you with ISIS” after former first lady Barbara Bush cut a campaign ad for her son.
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“Donald is great at the one-liners,” Bush quipped during a 2015 debate. “But he’s a chaos candidate.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the two leaders’ new common ground.
On Iran, a senior administration official said the administration supports the people of Iran against the regime’s continued human rights abuses and authoritarian repression, and that the regime is one of the world’s worst violators of human rights, oppressing its people to maintain its grip on power.
Khamenei calls Trump a ‘criminal,’ blames him for deadly protests sweeping Iran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday lashed out at President Donald Trump, labeling him a “criminal” and accusing the U.S. of orchestrating unrest that has erupted into the deadliest protests in decades.
“The latest anti-Iran sedition was different in that the U.S. President personally became involved,” Iranian media quoted Khamenei as saying, per Reuters.
The statement is the latest Iranian government rhetoric blaming the U.S. for contributing to instability in Iran, with Tehran singling out Trump as a central figure in what it calls foreign-driven unrest. The regime has also been pointing fingers at Israel.
Protests have raged in Iran since late December, initially over economic problems but rapidly expanding into widespread anti-regime demonstrations. Demonstrators have been met with severe crackdowns by security forces.
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Human rights groups say thousands of protesters have been killed in the unrest. Reports from various groups say Khamenei was responsible for a crackdown that killed thousands of protesters. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran on Friday put the death toll at 3,090.
The number, which exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution, continues to rise.
Meanwhile, Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi told Bret Baier on “Special Report” on Monday that a minimum of 12,000 people were dead.
Trump has expressed support for Iranian protesters and talked about regime change, while some Republican lawmakers have openly urged Trump to consider military action.
LINDSEY GRAHAM CALLS FOR US TO USE ‘ANY MEANS NECESSARY’ TO STOP THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE KILLING OF IRANIANS
The president said on Tuesday that he had cut off meetings with the Iranian regime, saying there would be no contact until the government stops killing protesters. He also urged the Iranian people to “take over” the country.
When asked if Arab and Israeli officials “convinced” him to not strike Iran, Trump told reporters Friday that he convinced himself and cited the canceled hangings.
Trump also expressed similar sentiments on social media Friday.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been canceled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday.
It is unclear whom Trump spoke to in Iran to confirm the state of any planned executions. The statement echoes what White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday about the canceled executions. She maintained that all options remained on the table when it comes to dealing with Iran.
“What I will say with respect to Iran is that the president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “And the president received a message as he revealed to all of you and the whole world yesterday that the killing and the executions will stop. And the president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted.”
It’s unclear from Trump’s post if he was referring to the 800 executions that were already canceled or whether there have been two consecutive days when 800 executions have been called off.
Meanwhile, a sermon by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami carried by Iranian state radio sparked chants from those gathered for prayers, including: “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!”
Khatami, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts and Guardian Council long known for his hardline views, described the protesters as the “butlers” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “Trump’s soldiers,” according to The Associated Press.
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He said Netanyahu and Trump should await “hard revenge from the system.”
“Americans and Zionists should not expect peace,” the cleric said.