US launched massive military strikes against the ISIS in Syria on Friday in retaliation for an ambush attack last week that killed two US troops and an American interpreter.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said 'Operate Hawkeye Strike' was a “declaration of vengeance”, with US President Donald Trump saying the strikes were targeting IS “strongholds” and were supported “fully” by Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” Hegseth said on social media.
The “large-scale” strike hit 70 targets in areas across Central Syria that housed IS infrastructure and weapons, according to a US official.
The attack was conducted using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters, officials said. The US has around 1,000 troops stationed in Syria.
Trump, in a post on social media, warned the terrorist group against attacking US personnel again. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned – YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE USA,” the President wrote.
Also Read: Trump vows retaliation after deadly ISIS attack in Syria
Syrian state television reported that the US strikes hit targets in rural areas of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, and in the Jabal al-Amour area near Palmyra. It also said they targeted “weapons storage sites and headquarters used by ISIS as launching points for its operations in the region.”
Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X that last week’s attack “underscores the urgent necessity of strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms” and that Syria is committed “to fighting ISIS and ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat.”
Ahmad al-Sharaa, once affiliated with al-Qaida, broke away from the group to now having a long-running enmity with ISIS. While ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the US service members last week, it did claim responsibility for two attacks on Syrian security forces, one of which killed four Syrian soldiers in Idlib province.
The US soldiers killed in Syria last Saturday were Sgt Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the US Army. Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Macomb, Michigan, a US civilian working as an interpreter, was also killed.
The shooting happened near the historic city of Palmyra, and also wounded three other US troops as well as members of Syria’s security forces. The gunman, a base security guard with Syria’s internal security forces, was killed.
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