DAMASCUS — Jordan confirmed on Saturday that its air force took part in US-led military strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria, carried out in retaliation for the killing of three US citizens earlier this month.

In a statement, the Jordanian Armed Forces said Royal Jordanian Air Force jets participated in “precise airstrikes” targeting multiple IS positions in southern Syria.

Jordan is a member of the international coalition fighting IS, which now includes Syria.

The strikes were launched on Friday by the United States following an attack near Palmyra on Dec. 13, in which two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter were killed.

Three additional US troops were wounded in the attack.

U.S. Central Command said its forces struck more than 70 targets across central Syria using fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery, with support from Jordanian aircraft.

The strikes targeted IS fighters, weapons depots and operational infrastructure.

The US military did not disclose casualty figures, but the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least five people were killed, including a senior IS cell leader and several operatives.

Jordan’s military said the operation aimed to prevent extremist groups from exploiting southern Syrian territory as a base to threaten neighboring countries and regional security, noting what it described as renewed IS activity in the area.

US Central Command said that since the Dec. 13 attack, US and partner forces have carried out 10 counterterrorism operations in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 IS operatives. It added that more than 80 counterterrorism missions have been conducted in Syria over the past six months.

US President Donald Trump had pledged “very serious retaliation” after the attack, which he blamed on IS. On Friday, Trump said Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was “fully in support” of the US strikes.

IS has not claimed responsibility for the attack on US personnel near Palmyra, though it has claimed responsibility for two recent attacks on Syrian security forces, including one in Idlib province that killed four Syrian soldiers. In its statements, the group described Syria’s current leadership and armed forces as “apostates.”

Syrian officials said the gunman behind the Palmyra attack had joined Syria’s internal security forces two months earlier as a base security guard and was under investigation over suspected links to IS. He was reassigned shortly before the attack.

According to Syrian authorities, the assailant stormed a meeting between US and Syrian security officials during a lunch gathering, opened fire after clashing with Syrian guards, and was killed in the exchange.

Hundreds of US troops remain deployed in eastern Syria as part of the international coalition tasked with preventing IS from regrouping following its territorial defeat in 2019. — Agencies