The US military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday (Dec 19) in retaliation for an attack on American personnel, US officials said.
A US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Islamic State suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces.
President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate after a suspected ISIS attack killed US personnel last weekend in Syria.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” and that the operation was “Operation hawkeye strike.”
“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he added.
Trump hails ‘massive’ blow against Islamic state
Trump said on social media that the Syrian government fully supported the strikes and that the US was inflicting “very serious retaliation”.
At a speech in North Carolina on Friday night, Trump called it a “massive” blow against the ISIS members that the US blames for the December 13 attack on coalition forces.
“We hit the ISIS thugs in Syria. … It was very successful,” Trump said at a rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
US Central Command said the strikes hit more than 70 targets across central Syria, adding that Jordanian fighter jets supported the operation.
One US official said the strikes were carried out by US F-15 and A-10 jets, along with Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems.
Jordan’s air force participated in the strikes, state-owned Jordan TV reported on Saturday, saying they had targeted sites affiliated to Islamic State in southern Syria, within the framework of Amman’s co-operation with the US-led coalition.
Syria reiterated its steadfast commitment to fighting Islamic State and ensuring that it has “no safe havens on Syrian territory,” according to a statement by the foreign ministry.
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Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the US military. Three other US soldiers were also wounded in the attack.
About 1,000 US troops remain in Syria.
The Syrian Interior Ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State.
Syria’s government is led by former rebels who toppled leader Bashar al-Assad last year after a 13-year civil war, and includes members of Syria’s former al-Qaeda branch who broke with the group and clashed with Islamic State.
Syria has been cooperating with a US-led coalition against Islamic State, reaching an agreement last month when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House.
US hits ISIS in Syria with large retaliatory strikes, officials say
